A Promise Between Worlds
by CrafterofTales
Summary: When Emma's life hangs by a thread, a mysterious entity offers her a chance to obtain the freedom she desires for her family. But for this, she must participate in a competition between people from several worlds, and enter numerous contests for the promised wish. Meeting those of other-worldly abilities, she is a child relying not just smarts and tenacity, but also her heart.
1. The Promised Wish

**A Promise Between Worlds**

**The Promised Neverland Anime X-overs**

**Summary: When Emma's life hangs by a thread, a mysterious entity offers her a chance to obtain the freedom she desires for her family. But for this, she must participate in a tournament between people from several worlds, and compete in numerous contests for the promised wish.**

**/.\**

**[WARNING: MANGA SPOILERS FOR THE PROMISED NEVERLAND, AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHER SPOILERS FOR ALL OTHER ANIME AND/OR MANGA. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION].**

Chapter 1: The Promised Wish

A wonderful and ruthless world, divided by a one-thousand-year-old promise.

Once, there was a war between Humanity and the "Demons." The Demons hunted humans in order to eat, and the humans retaliated in order to survive. Endless bloodshed and losses, neither opposing side was grasping absolute victory. One day, a deal was offered by a human to put an end to this war, to spare humanity of any more deaths. This deal was to forge a promise, that the Demons will no longer hunt humans, in exchange for a newly constructed system that guarantees the resuming consumption of the Demons only food source; a series of farms producing human children as livestock.

Since the Promise, humanity and the Demons had long ended their war with each other. Their treaty of peace was held together by the blissful ignorance of the imprisoned "cattle children," raised to be eaten as the sacrificial lambs that ensure the security for those outside the Demon society, and some within it. The cattle children are born in an unassuming environment of a loving orphanage, where they are preciously cared for until the inevitable time comes when one or more of the children are "adopted." It was known to those who manufactured these facilities, and to the foster guardians of these orphanages – the Mamas, that all of the children who were adopted and escorted away, were killed, preserved, and shipped as human meat for the Demons to procure.

The illusion of the children being accepted into a loving family, eager for a long life of happiness, dissipated the moment their beloved foster mother handed them over to the Demon's grasps without hesitation. Young minds clouded with incomprehension and fear. Their hearts pierced with the devastation of despair, and the sharp stem of a vampire flower that drains then blooms the blood of these victims; a sacrificial offering that asks for the blessing of their Demon God.

This was the cruel reality of their situation, as it was so discovered by many cattle children, including three of the smartest children of Gracefield Orphanage. The wretched truth about their home; a plantation, a farm. Horrified, they sought an alternative, the only other option that spares them from their fate.

Escape.

But Emma refused to leave her family behind.

Though it would have been logical to save only themselves; in fewer numbers thus a greater chance of survival, Emma did not wish to leave the rest of her younger siblings. She was determined to have all of them escape, and to a place where no child is slaughtered and eaten by the Demons. But reality was a constant, cruel enemy of theirs, as was their façade of a kind mother: Isabella, and the many obstacles that threatened to sink their spirits into the bottomless ocean with cement to their feet, refraining from ever reaching the surface towards freedom.

However, no matter the impossibility of their situation, no matter the likely scenario that there may not be a society that will accept them, or anywhere that is a safe haven for the lost children of the Promised Neverland, they must either defy the system or accept their fate. And so, they chose to rebel.

But no such action, to achieve the future of a world they wanted, comes without knowing defeat. Despite their clever efforts and attempted deceits, they have lost yet another member of their family, and it was a lesson that will forever embed in the hearts and minds of the cattle children. Though Emma and her family suffered silently in grief, their dispirited attitude was a false act to trick their Mama, in order for her to suspect the seemingly unsuspecting, while another plan unraveled outside her focus, and initiated before it was realized.

It was not a successful breakout, it could never be considered a success, not since they lost Norman. Emma wanted all of them to escape, but at Norman's sudden shipment date, at his departure that left a hole in their hearts, she saw reality for what it was. It was not possible, or rather, not all of them would be saved if everyone were to escape all at once. The world outside their home was an unknown place. Danger is most likely what only awaits. The youngest members, the infants, and toddlers, their safety was not guaranteed, not while they are small and unable to help themselves. Although the oldest children had fled, they could not bring their entire family with them. The littlest ones had to stay behind.

But they were not abandoned. One day, the escaped children of Gracefield Orphanage will return for the rest of their family. One day, they will all leave this society of Demons. Emma made this promise.

However, as Emma, Ray, Gilda, Don, and the rest of the older siblings venture into the wilds only the Demons would be familiar with, they are met with life-threatening situations and enemies, yet also allies. A pair of friendly demons who do not eat cattle children, a human man who refuses to give his name, their guidance – William Minerva, whom they only know through books, and many more cattle children who have discovered the terrible truth of this world. All this leads to an encounter against their greatest obstacle. Demons.

With only their human strength against powerful foes, they must not only rely on exceptional strategies but strength in numbers as well, all in order to defeat the Demons, their hunters. The cattle children will stand against the Demons. After a thousand years, the battle between humans and Demons ignited once more. This is where everything will unfold.

In Goldy Pond.

/.\

It was supposed to be a sanctuary. A place where many of the escaped cattle children may find the gateway to the Human World, a world without Demons, without fear of being eaten. But there was also the choice to remain here, in this secluded villa. A safe haven for the cattle children. Away from Demons and those who mean them harm.

This was Goldy Pond.

Now, it is a hunting ground for Demons to lavish in the thrill of chasing and killing cattle children.

The gateway to the Human World was destroyed. A traitor had exposed this villa, and the Demons have claimed it since. A private game in order to relive the glory days of the war against the humans before the Promise was made. cattle children are brought here, involved in an event for survival. They must run and fight to avoid being slain and devoured. It was a sport for the Demons.

But the cattle children had united, guided by the oldest among them; a cattle child who lived to become an adult, with promises of vengeance against the Demons. He has inspired all of the children brought here to join and fight together, for he too is a victim of the Demons. For he too had his family killed before his eyes. While his only surviving friend – the nameless man who was able to escape Goldy Pond, who went mad with grief and loneliness – he remained strong with the help of the children he has rescued and began his plans of defeating the Demons.

Everything had unfolded when Emma and Ray went with the nameless man in search of a way to the Human World, where Emma was captured and brought here. Along with her efforts, they eagerly prepared their retaliation against the Demons, to put an end to the existence of Goldy Pond. With the aid of Emma, Ray, the nameless man, and her newfound friends, they fought together for survival, to kill their powerful sadistic foes. The prey biting back their most feared predators.

They must eradicate this place of endless tragedy, death, and sorrow. They must kill the Demons of Goldy Pond, or they will all perish.

"KEEP FIRING!"

All that remains is one Demon, their most dangerous enemy yet. The rest of the poachers have perished, killed by the children who conveyed their vengeance with guns and bullets. Heavy injuries were sustained, but the cattle children were able to kill nearly all of them, all except one.

Lewis.

So long as he remains alive, none of them are safe, none of them will live. It was not a matter of a personal vendetta that Lewis felt towards the children, for his slain comrades whom he knew for years. There was no such grief in him, and his sympathies were only minor. He lived for the hunt, the ecstasy of fighting a worthy opponent, so much so that he openly revealed the secret of how to permanently kill the Demons, to cease their regeneration ability, all to enhance the excitement of overcoming a great challenge and a greater foe.

To see who is the strongest, and either emerges in triumph or know a satisfying defeat. It was merely an exhilaration, and that is what made Lewis the deadliest from the rest.

His regeneration was slow due to his old age, it was the only sort of advantage the Cattle Children held in order to defeat this demon before they inflict a killing blow into his eye. His white mask, tougher than any stone, was destroyed, his exposed weak spot barely protected by his three-finger claws. They only need one shot, Emma and her companions need only that one infliction, and then the terror of Goldy Pond would finally end. Though even as a hundred bullets attacked his body while his senses were clouded from an ignited flash grenade, he was smiling as a creature indulging what he had not indulged for a thousand years, a true life-or-death confrontation, a battle between natural-born hunters. This feeling of urgency, his life dwindling with every bullet, the inside of his head was swirling, and the pain was unbearable.

It was absolutely _wonderful_.

Emma had seen the results of Lewis' evil deeds, his pleasure to experience a thrilling kill. Taking the lives of children and letting go of those he deemed to have potential; to one day give him a true fight and not some meager hunt against a helpless prey. He had seen this potential in Emma and wished to drive out the killer instinct from the girl. Emma had accepted his challenge, out of anger for the children he has killed, for calling her out by slaughtering the siblings of the little boy she had befriended here.

Yet even for her hatred over his actions, she still questioned if fighting was really their only option. For her willingness to kill him, she wondered if the death of either one of them was what should really settle this. Emma understood the cruel nature of Lewis, but she also realized that he was a sentient being with thoughts and emotions like herself, that all of the Demons were indeed sentient beings, not like the Wild Demons. Angry as she was, unforgiving as she was for what he has done, she did not carry enough of a vengeful heart to kill Lewis outright, coldly and without consideration. She was not so willing to abandon her sense of humanity and match the same pleasure of killing a strong foe as Lewis has.

Emma is aware of her emotional tendency, but she was not without reason, and not without the courage to speak out and seek a better solution, no matter the low probability of it. It was a thing called naivety, but such was the logic of this child, fueled by a compassion that most of the world did not have. It was commendable but far too beautiful to ever truly occur in a world such as this, this is what Lewis responded. There was no negotiating, he held no other desire but for them to fight each other to the death.

And so they fought. With the arrival of reinforcements – Ray, the nameless man, and a few others – Emma fought alongside her companions against their tremendously strong hunter. For their fallen friends and family, and for all others who fell victim to this hunting grounds. Together, they unleashed their anger and anguish, crying out a thousand bullets.

It was a fleeting moment of empowerment.

"EMMA!"

There was one more thing that made Lewis truly terrifying: his inexplicable speed. Able to catch bullets with ease if left unexhausted, and the ability to somehow be in one place before suddenly appearing in another, as if he teleported. An unknown power only the Demons were capable of achieving, especially those who have lived and fought long before the Promise. It was with this power, that in an instant, Lewis appeared from behind with his sword-like claws.

"Huh?"

It was done before it was realized. The strange burning clutch around Emma's waist, the sharp ends of two weapons that suddenly popped out from her abdomen. The blood, the immediate hurting. Her mind registered what had happened within a few seconds.

She had been stabbed.

"What a shame." So pitied the demon behind her. "But you were a wonderful hunt. I will never forget you."

He withdrew his weapons, allowing Emma to slip out from his lanky yet undeniably sturdy claw-fingers, coated in her blood. Her body slumped against the ground. Unresponsive, her life slowly bled away. Not even the screams of her comrades stirred her. Not the pain, not the increasing darkness clouding her consciousness. The voices and the world around her distances itself, farther and farther away.

Then everything faded until there was nothing but silence.

/.\

**_"Ah. So that's it then. That's all you're going to give?"_**

It was dark. Her body felt cold. Her wounds were agonizing, but there was no energy to scream.

**_"You still have some life in you left. Not for much longer though..."_**

An echo surrounds her. An unknown voice, along with several others that resonated into her soul. The screams of the children who were killed by the Demons. The grief and despair of those who have lost their loved ones. Visions of the past she did not personally experience flooded her mind; of the victims whose lives were ended so swiftly. Their refusal to die was ignored, their pleas and tears were ignored, by this vicious world that saw them only as food.

Their dreams, hopes, wishes, and fears were irrelevant. They were meant only to be food, and nothing more.

_I cannot accept that..._

She resisted the temptation of eternal sleep. She urged herself to wake, but although her spirit was defiant, her body did not move.

_Everyone... is waiting for me. My family... my friends..._

Her spirit started to sink, into the black abyss separate from the world of the living.

_No. No! I still have so much to do! I don't want to die! I can't die yet!_

Her friends were still in battle against Lewis. Her family was waiting for her at the underground shelter. Phil is expecting her return, to rescue him and the rest of the children, the rest of the orphans from the other farms, from their lie of a happy home and impending doom. So much has been sacrificed to get her this far, she cannot allow it all to be in vain!

**_"You really _****do****_ have a strong will..."_**

A familiar hand grasped onto hers. A kind smile of a boy who had been taken from her and her family.

_Norman?_

Was this a dream? An illusion of the dying? A glimpse of the afterlife? Regardless of the answer, her heart cried out a saddened joy at the sight of her lost friend.

_I... I have to go back..._

Norman nodded. He released her hand and ushered her to follow.

**_"I'll tell you what."_** The voice of the abyss continues to speak, though it was questionable if Emma could comprehend anything that's happening to her at this moment.**_ "If you could do one thing for me, I'll give you a chance to save your family and friends. I'll give you a chance to have anything you desire. All you have to do..."_**

She was led back to the surface. Another hand dipped in for her, and she reached out for it.

**_"Is stand up."_**

_Mama?_ It was Isabella pulling her out, the very first enemy that threatened her family, a worker of the demons for her own survival at the expense of raising and shipping away from the children she had lovingly raised - cultivated. But there was no madness in the woman's eyes now. They were encouraging, genuine love from her warm expression. It was as if the mother Emma knew for so long had returned, the mother Emma had secretly longed for again before the horrid truth was known. The gleaming source of comfort and support.

"That's right. Don't give up, Emma."

Because in truth, Isabella was once like them. She had been a cattle child who chose survival over being food, even if it means pushing others to their death, even if it means letting the children she genuinely loved to eventually die. This was the path most if not all have chosen, those who wanted to live than die so young and horribly. Because there was no other choice that did not mean their end, there was no hope of rebuking the system, to change society with what little to no power they had, and so they surrendered their will and abandoned their compassion for their fellow victims, in order to be the humans the demons couldn't eat.

But the day that the children escaped Isabella, what Isabella could not do when she was a small orphan herself, was the day they had her realize that accepting despair was not their only option and that they would struggle incessantly to find a world where they can truly be happy. Not a place where humans may drag each other down, desperately clawing their way towards survival and kicking aside those who seek the same. Where nothing but tears flow to exclaim the broken hearts of the slaughtered innocents, young and powerless.

Enough was enough, Emma decided. No more sadness. No more sacrifices. No more tragedies.

**_"So you're not done after all?"_**

No. She wasn't. Because...

_I still haven't achieved the future that I've wanted!_

Her body was heavy with pain and blood loss, yet she stood up regardless of her condition. By her will alone, she had returned from death's void. For the sake of her family, for every cattle child, she will challenge the cruelty of the Demon World, and march on towards their freedom - to the Human World!

Regarded with shock and awe by all, Emma could not muster the strength to speak to her allies, putting forth all of her efforts simply to stand. Her hand clutching the four-barrel pistol of unique properties. She must tell them, she must convey it somehow. Their only hope of defeating Lewis lies within this pistol, but she cannot do it alone. She must have everyone's contribution to ensuring this particular bullet will go through without fail.

"SURROUND HIM! THIS IS OUR LAST CHANCE! KEEP SHOOTING!"

_Ray..._

Ray's command stirred the cattle children out of their stupor and resumed firing their weapons at Lewis. Emma wishes she could thank him. He understood her intentions without having to hear it directly from her. He, out of everyone else aside from Norman, would know her heart and goal without hesitation or doubt.

How wondrously he has changed since escaping Gracefield; the cynical boy who had known the truth of this world since birth, the boy who had helplessly watched his fellow orphans - brothers and sisters, be shipped away to their demise, the boy who wanted for Norman and Emma's survival to the point where he would sacrifice himself in order for them to escape, a spy for Mama so to benefit his two closest friends, the very boy who had no faith of escaping with the other children, that it was impossible. How far he has come from being that persona of nihilism, into a person who has devoted his life to keeping his family safe, and himself alive for their sake.

Bullets enveloped Lewis's form, yet Lewis's disturbingly incredible reflexes will no doubt help him catch and deflect these bullets. Not one will he allow to pass and hit his eye. Emma's teeth clenched. This was her chance, her very last. If she does not do it now, the lives of her friends will be in danger. Everyone will die by the hands of Lewis.

Raising her four-barrel pistol, she aimed for Lewis's head and pulled the trigger.

A bullet was fired. A bullet different from the rest design-wise. Lewis, in the midst of deflecting from the other hundreds of piercing attacks, noticed too late this odd bullet and watched as it suddenly split apart into pieces before he could knock it aside, a flash ignited from within it.

The Demon was blinded. Without his sight, he could no longer keep track of anything being fired at him. He can no longer deflect anything with precision.

This is his defeat.

"Oh, how I love humans..." The demon congratulated.

Bullets tore his body apart, shredding his clothing and flesh. His regeneration ability had all dried up. He was pinned by the onslaught, there was nothing he could do to escape, nor to survive. This is his end, and he was content.

_Well done..._

There was nothing but satisfaction and pride for the humans who have finally fought back. The final bullet came, fired by the nameless man whose family this Demon had killed over a decade ago, rendering the man an insufferable life of loneliness and survival guilt. A bullet laced with years of despair, and memories of the dead; it destroyed Lewis' eye in a single shot. A long life of vigor and treasuring experiences flashed across Lewis's mind, and he fell with a smile.

The cattle children have won.

"We did it...?" One child whispered. "Lewis... We beat him... We beat him...!"

The children gaze over his corpse, confirming their kill. Their victory. "WE DID IT! WE DID IT! FREEDOM!"

Emma smiled at the sound of the cheer. The children of Goldy Pond, the grieving members who have lived here in fear and anguish, are finally freed from their nightmare. "It's over... We did it, everyone..."

But there was still much to do. They must get Pepe's wounds treated, and they must find the other children who were unable to come here. Were they alive? Were they in trouble? She has to find them, she has to...

Her thoughts trailed as her vision clouded, and her consciousness faded before she felt the ground.

"Emma!" She could barely register Ray's shouting, the screaming of her name from her friends. "Emma! Wake up! EMMA!"

She no longer had the strength to keep her eyes open, the panicked voices of her friends were growing distant once more. She had no energy to think, to hear her surroundings, or to feel the hug and desperate attempt waking her from her friend Ray. She had given her all.

Darkness returns to her once more.

/.\

**_"Looks like you're qualified after all."_**

Emma's eyes snapped open, gasping at her sudden wake. "Huh?"

She lay on her back, a starless night sky before her eyes, sunlight glow from a distance. Slowly, she sat up. The pain in her body has vanished, along with her exhaustion. Had she fallen asleep? No... Something was strange, very strange. A cold prickle touched her palms and she looked down. A ripple formed around her hand like it was to touch the water. The floor was pitch black, reflecting her image as if looking down a mirror.

_Where... am I?_ Where were Ray and the others? She glanced back at the sky and turned her gaze towards the source of light. "Wha-!?"

Shining brightly at the end of the sky was the sun, yet it did not reflect bright colors onto the dark sky. She was upon a black land, her surroundings devoid of any person or building. No sign of her friends, the corpse of Lewis, or any remnant of Goldy Pond. She was in a different place entirely, a place that seems to defy the laws of reality.

A place of night and day.

A shadow flew over her figure. A pale four-legged creature with reptilian features and thick scales, massive wings expanded from its back, and a single large eye at the center of its head, staring down at Emma who gaped at its existence.

_A... A dragon...?_ Emma's heart pounded. She had only ever known about dragons in storybooks; in her games of pretend where she would be the knight who defeats the winged beast or play the role of the dragon for her younger siblings to vanquish. She had always wondered about the existence of mythical creatures, and in this world of Demons and strange elements, a world she has not been completely familiarized as of yet, it only strengthens her belief that anything is plausible. Now, to see the fantastical creature fly far above her head, she was at a loss for words, her eyes wavering in fear and amazement.

**_"It's nice to meet you, Emma."_**

Emma spun around. The speaker who echoed his greeting to her stood not too far away - no, not standing, he was floating.

_A demon!?_

He had the appearance of one, with a stone white mask and horns on its side. A big round eye at the center of his face. Emma was surprised but realized that the demon did not emit an air of hostility, nor was he attacking outright. He floated with his legs crossed, a body like that of a child, wearing intricate clothing that seemed ancient design-wise. Glowing orbs fly around the small demon; were they sentient? Or was it this demon who's controlling them?

The dragon settled down beside the child-size demon, folding its wings to a close. **_"I would have expected for us to meet somewhere else... but you've proved to be very promising. I might just choose you after all."_**

_Choose?_ Emma did not understand the vague statement, only raises more questions, but before that, she must confirm the well-being of her friends. "What happened to my friends? Where is everyone?"

She examined her contradicting surroundings, "Where... is this place?"

**_"Your friends are alive and safe, now that you've defeated Lewis and the others,"_** The child demon answered. **_"I was really impressed that all of you managed to pull it off. You've even surprised Lewis. I can tell you how satisfied he was, and congratulates all of your efforts."_**

The glowing orbs circled around the child demon's fingertips, **_"As for this place... Here, there is nothing, yet there is everything. The entrance isn't anywhere, yet the entrance is everywhere."_**

An absurd answer for an absurd place. _Wait..._ Emma regarded everything once more. _A place that has both day and night... This was in the files!_

When Emma and Lukas - the surviving friend of the Nameless man, unlocked a hidden base underneath Goldy Pond, where they found a literal pond filled with strange golden liquid; it was there that they not only discovered the broken pathway to the Human World, but more information left behind their distant guide man William Minerva - or rather, James Ratri.

The author of the adventure books Gracefield House had a collection of; under the guise of a typical book series, his stories were in actuality a guide throughout the Demon World for the cattle children. James Ratri was, in fact, a man whose family had forged the Promise with the Demons one thousand years ago. For every generation since the Promise, there was to be a descendant of the Ratri family who will act as a mediator between the Demon World and the Human World, to ensure that the promise is upheld. However, James could no longer accept this and sought to offer the cattle children a chance to decide their own fate as he could not personally intervene, nor help them all himself.

It was because of James that Emma and her family were able to achieve as much as they have through reading the hidden messages within his books, the use of a special pen made from advanced technology that was also a key for the underground shelter of B06-32, and the base underneath Goldy Pond. Lukas, the nameless man, and their family had also figured this much thirteen years ago, which was the reason why they all arrived at Goldy Pond.

However, instead of finding James or an escape to the Human World, they only met horror, and all but Lukas and the nameless man were killed. Separated from his only surviving family and the pen that could have unlocked more answers, Lukas questioned the true intentions of William Minerva until Emma's arrival. With another special pen she had on her, the secret underground base of Goldy Pond was opened, and the recorded will of their distant guide man was discovered - the last message of James Ratri.

According to the message, James built Goldy Pond to be another safe shelter for the escaped cattle children, but after suffering a betrayal from his closest comrade, the existence of Goldy Pond and James's secret revolt against the Farming System was exposed. James Ratri is more than likely to be already dead, the gateway he had forged for the children to use and enter the Human World was no longer usable. All of his efforts to have at least some of the cattle children saved, utterly crumbled and brought to ruin.

But not all hope was lost, in his last message, James suggested that there were three other options for the cattle children; the first option is the search for the "other" paths to the Human World, the second option is to break the Promise and rage war against the Demons, the third option was to "Search for the Seven Walls," a most cryptic suggestion, yet Emma knew that there was an immense importance to it, and after accessing another data chip, she was able to understand completely.

But to search for the Seven Walls, she was to follow the directions encrypted within the files; to find "the place of night and day."

_This... This must be that place..._ Emma observed, she returns her focus to the demon child,_ Then... this demon... could he be...?_

Could this demon be what James wanted her to look for? The very demon whom all the other demons worship? The demon whose name was not of human language, but one casually said by Sister Krone when she wanted to see if Emma and Norman found it familiar if they were aware of who this name belongs to. Is this demon Him? Is he-

"Are you-!?"

_Are you The One who the demons pray to?_

**_"So, what's your answer?"_**

The sudden question had Emma stuttered, "W-what?"

**_"Do you want to fight for that chance to save your family?"_**

She stared, and then a slow comprehension dawns her expression. "It was your voice. It was you I heard after I was stabbed."

The bet of her resilience to stand up.

**_"Good to hear you remember,"_** the child Demon said. **_"Yeah, it was me. I wanted to see if you could pull through, and now that you have, you're qualified alright."_**

"Qualified for what?" Emma asked, feeling her sides. It was a shock to her that she cannot feel the impaling wounds she received from Lewis. Did this demon heal her? Or is all this a dream?

**_"To be a participant in a competition for a wish."_**

Her look of absolute bemused, the child demon elaborated. **_"Let me explain, starting from the beginning..."_**

Beyond space, time, and reality, a contest between people from several worlds is in the making. There are infinite worlds beyond this one, worlds of its own history, laws, individuals, and even Gods. Each of these worlds is set in its own universe, with its own set of rules and lore.

However, every once in a while, the barrier that has kept these worlds separated would be weakened, and a contest is formulated between the different dimensions, in between the realities. This contest is a competition of skills, intelligence, will, and power. Of people with a wide range of abilities, and reason to fight.

And the prize for whoever wins this competition; a wish powerful enough to change the world, to have anyone's one desire be granted.

**_"But in order to claim that wish, you will have to overcome multiple obstacles, survive them, and uphold the criteria that are required for you to remain in the competition."_**

The incredible tale left Emma in complete bafflement, "A wish... I can wish for anything?"

**_"Anything you want. You can use it to save your family, your friends as well. Maybe you would want to save all the other children, right?"_**

Emma gawked at his knowledge of her desire.

**_"Or maybe you would want to destroy the Demon World, maybe both the Demon and the Human world. How about that?"_**

Such a shockingly casual remark left her stunned. Emma rejected the suggestion with a quick shake of her head, "N-no! I don't want that."

**_"Well, it's up to you anyhow. But you get the idea now, right? How powerful this wish is. It could alter or erase reality in an instant. The only set-back is that it can't affect every world, one wish only has enough power to change at least one world, one universe by extension."_**

The child demon gently grabs one of the glowing orbs, **_"I'm sure you must have intended to look for me, what you wished to do after finding me. I hope that you're aware though, that whatever you ask of me, I expect something in return, but if you decided to partake in this competition and use the wish, then there won't be any need for me to achieve what you desire. So, what's your answer?"_**

For a moment, Emma did not know what to say. Her mind wrapped with amazement. There was no questioning if what this demon says is true, for why would he make such an outlandish lie? And even if it was questionable, how can she deny the probability that it might actually be the truth?

The gateway to the Human World was closed, the other "paths" that are known were still very much unclear, a far too risky option, and too early for that matter. She must see if there is a secure way to reach the world without Demons, and it is as this child demon had said, what was mentioned in the files she's read; that third option.

To Reforge the Promise.

But if this wish could help her without having to sacrifice anything, without having to instigate a war between Humanity and Demons once more, then-!

**_"One more thing..."_**

The child demon spoke.

**_"If you decide to enter this competition, then you should know this beforehand. There are plenty of ways to win, just as there are plenty of ways to lose. One of the ways that you could lose is by getting killed. Don't worry though. If you end up dying in this competition, you won't actually die in your world."_**

"Huh?"

The demon child released the glowing orb, allowing it to float around his palm.**_ "What I'm saying is that your mind is what will be transferred to the competition. You will still be able to experience things like hunger, tiredness, and pain as well, but your body will remain in the Demon World, with your family. So if you happen to perish or lose, your soul will return to your dimension and back into your body. However..."_**

The child demon emphasizes,**_ "Whatever experience you gained during your time competing, it will travel back with you to your world. Say, for example, you've never learned how to ride a bicycle. If you happen to learn how to ride it while participating in this contest, that knowledge and skill you've earned will be brought along with you, even if your original body would not have shared that same experience, it will develop and adapt at your return. You won't age though, no matter how long you're in the competition for, but the experience will never be erased."_**

He paused for a brief moment, **_"Well, there's a fifty-fifty percent chance that you might survive at all in the condition you're in at your reality. But that also depends on you, and how much you are willing to fight to stay alive, regardless if you win or lose."_**

So her wounds were that severe after all. Emma pondered, "...How long will this competition last? Are there rounds?"

**_"There are rounds, but I can't say how long it'll be or how many there are, and each round varies from hunting the most dangerous creature to a battle of wits, and etcetera. All the previous competition, though, haven't lasted beyond a year,"_** the child demon answered. **_"Of course, time is irrelevant. Even if you spend more than a year in this contest, by the time you return to your reality, nothing much will have changed. A year participating would be the passing of a minute in your world."_**

A competition beyond reality, space, and time. How astonishing.

**_"Which is why even if you win or lose, your fight hasn't ended yet. At the very least, you won't have to worry about your wounds once you register yourself. Any ailments or injuries you may be suffering from in your world will be cleared once you enter the competition."_**

Emma considered for another minute, various questions in mind and asking them. "...So there's going to be a lot of people competing? Are they... humans like me? Will there be Demons participating as well?"

**_"Humans. Demons. And more. Some of them have their reasons. Some of them may not have any. But for a lot of them, they are _****very****_ powerful,"_** the child demon said.**_ "So powerful, in fact, I wonder if you would make it that far at all? You might end up dying in the most painful way possible, or so instantaneous that you won't realize what just happened. This competition won't be kind to anyone, and it'll only grow more difficult as time goes by. Knowing all that, would you even-?"_**

The child demon stopped and chuckled again. **_"I suppose that's not enough to waver you in the slightest. My, my, you truly are an interesting human."_**

There was no hesitation in Emma's eyes. In truth, she had been afraid that if she accepted this opportunity, she would have to be gone for too long, but knowing now that it may not be that long for her family to wait for her, she was at ease. There were other questions she has, but there were only a few things she was certain of. If she could save her family and friends, and all the other children, she will put her heart, body, and soul into reaching that goal.

No matter what challenge awaits her, she will not shy away from it, and with her life uncertain back in her reality, she would rather not want anyone to struggle or suffer while waiting for her likely or unlikely recovery. _I have to take this chance... Not for my sake, but for everyone..._

**_"It looks like I have your answer,"_** the child demon raises one finger, pointing at her. **_"Then I'll be sending you right on your way. Good luck, and remember this Emma..."_**

One of the glowing orbs floated towards her, steadily approaching as Emma curiously studied the peculiar thing. Slowly, her vision was clouded in a glowing white. The urge to step away bit at her, but she restrained herself, embracing the painless light.

**_"You should not subjugate yourself to only your understanding of your world. Having a perspective is trivial compared to the truth that exists outside our minds. But if you want to enforce _****your ****_truth into reality, know that yours is only one out of countless others. There's not much room for a compromise, it's always been a competition between ideals."_**

Just as she was beginning to know about her world, it was left behind within an instant.


	2. Preliminary

Chapter 2: Preliminary

She was no longer in the place of night and day, yet it was a void all the same. The black sky was without its abnormal sun, and the ground seemed to be composed of glass tiles, a faint blue hue to its corners. There was nothing for miles, and no one to address.

A solid weight in her hand, Emma looked down at it. It was the four-barrel pistol is held in her own grasp, the very weapon she used against Lewis. She never recalled letting it go, but this gun wasn't in her clutch when she spoke to that child demon. Was she given this back after being transferred here? She checked the barrels of the pistol, it was loaded with the four special bullets; each able to cast different effects: flash, bang, net, and tear gas.

She then realized the straps over her shoulders and felt a weight on her back. She holsters her pistol and pulled over what was being carried. It was a backpack, so similar to the one she had brought with her from the underground shelter and thought to have lost that it might as well be the same. There was also the same rifle on her, a bow, and several arrows inside a quiver.

A startling beep takes Emma's attention. A hologram of a blank screen suddenly appears in front of her, and a female robotic voice spoke as a sentence in green letters was typed.

**[Please look over the data on the screen you currently see to confirm your registry.]**

A datasheet showed below the text. One brief glance at it, Emma quickly realized she was reading a sheet about herself. From her name, age, place of birth, information that actually surprised her than it did disturb her for how much was known. There were even the test scores she accomplished in Gracefield - what was, she later found out, to be the best way in separating the smartest from the rest; the level of intelligence equating to the quality of the child, with the brain likely being the best part and most favored for the demons to eat.

Looking through her sheet, she affirmed the accuracy of it, not very sure how else to treat it, and presses the confirm button at the bottom of the screen. The data sheet went away, and a new text is spelled out.

**[Your registration is now complete. Candidate: Emma of Gracefield Orphanage/63194. Welcome to the preliminary simulation of the Competition Between Worlds. The preliminary is a trial you must pass in order to officially enter as a contestant for the grand prize of a wish.]**

_A simulation..._ Meaning a computer-generated scenario? Emma had only heard of it in books and thought it to be phenomenal. A whole world existing inside a computer, or even as small as an electronic device. Yet even for a simulation, and that her mind has been transferred here, she will be having the same experience as she would in the real world. It's nothing short of an incredible thing. Ray and Norman would have been just as amazed if they were here.

And to know that there would be other humans participating as well. Although from different worlds, she wondered what they would be like.

**[Please pay close attention to the following instructions, as it will not only be essential information to understand how you may pass the preliminary, but it will be an example of what to expect for the next several matches should you pass this trial. Any question concerning the aftermath of the preliminary will only be answered once you have successfully completed this course.]**

So unless the person could accomplish whatever task the preliminary will give, there was no point in elaborating the exact nature of how to achieve the grand prize if the person would be out of the competition anyway. The candidate must earn their place to compete foremost. A goal that requires diligence at the utmost, something that she imagined Ray would advise.

As requested, Emma offered her full attention.

**[Your main objective is to collect points; each point represents a task that has been accomplished. Achieve five points, and you will pass the preliminary. You must rely on your skills, knowledge, power, and all else at your disposal to accomplish this task. Your signature weapon/weapons is provided and should be upon you. You are welcome to create or find more once the match begins.**

**The theme for the preliminary is:**

**Monster Hunt.]**

Symbols and silhouettes of unidentified creatures popped into show alongside the texts. Pixelated pictures of locations popped out of the screen as extended holograms, showcasing things like fangs, beastly eyes, animal-like ears and the like.

**[Your mission is to hunt and obtain a piece of a monster. There will be Challenge Boards you may come across once the Preliminary begins. The Challenge Boards will provide broad information on monsters. Their difficulty level, strength, weakness, and general location. ****You may decide which monster to hunt, and use whatever means necessary to accomplish this task.**

**Each piece of a monster such as a horn, teeth, a scale, or any distinguishing features that you may remove, will represent a point. You are welcome to gather more points, but failing to meet the five-point requirement before the deadline will result in failing the preliminary.]**

An icon of a rectangular item pops up. A new text appears on the screen.

**[This patch will be where you may attach your obtained points to. After passing the preliminary, the patch will be yours throughout your participation of the Competition Between Worlds.****]**

Emma reached up to the icon. A sudden small flash of light and she blinked in surprised, stepping back cautiously. A small patch with a white base and rims floated in front of her, and she gently grasped it.

**[Upon collecting a piece of a monster, the piece will transform into a star-shaped badge. It is within your power to place it.****]**

A hologram of a sharp, animal-like tooth floated over the patch. A bending of light and matter, the tooth transformed into a small golden star and settled onto the patch like a sticker. The star badge soon faded at the conclusion of its visual example.

**[The patch will extend and if need be, separate into another patch of interchangeable size should you collect more than five badges.]**

This caught her interest, leading her to wonder. Why was more than five stars allowed? A precaution, in case if one or more stars is lost? While she certainly would feel at ease that to gain anymore than five would not automatically disqualify her, was there a reason for why that much hunting is allowed?

Could it be that, depending on the number of stars gathered, it will determine who will have a greater advantage in the next round once the preliminary is over? If the main goal of this preliminary is to collect points, then what if it's the same for the rest of the competition? And if that's true, what would be the exact number of stars required to decide a winner?

As Emma's thoughts wandered with these questions, the instructions for the preliminary proceeded in specifying the importance of taking great care of the point patch, a.k.a, the badge holder.

**[It is within your responsibility to keep hold of your patch and secure it somewhere upon yourself or in some type of carrier.]**

Then the badges itself are not safe for simply being on this patch, susceptible to being dropped and lost, or maybe even destroyed? Emma looked at the patch, and hid it inside one of the four pockets of her vest. The preliminary instructions then went on to detail what is acceptable, and what is not allowed when collecting points.

**[Two pieces of the same monster will not be accepted. Only one piece per monster is allowed. Should you decide to hunt without seeking the listed monsters on a challenge board, and managed to successfully hunt the monster, this will be regarded as a successful hunt and you will receive a point should you collect a piece of the monster.**

**It is recommended to find a challenge board so that you may become familiar with the various destinations that are mapped along with the listed monster. Life-threatening obstacles will also be listed for where the monster is located, as well will it mention the monster's ability that may be crucial to take note of. All monsters vary, but many of them are capable of inflicting damaging effects that may prolong throughout the preliminary or be potentially lethal within a certain time-frame if left untreated.**

**A permanent death is an automatic loss; upon losing, you will be returned to your world.**

**It is within your responsibility to seek treatment by your own medical knowledge, or by seeking someone who may assist you. Aside from hostile enemies, non-hostile entities are included. There will be villages and towns consisting of locals – NPCs(Non-Participating Contestants) - who may offer you rest, food, healing, and other assistance related to your hunt with information or special items. However, it is likely required of you to assist the villager first before they would feel obligated to offer you any guidance.]**

_It's really starting to sound more like a video game..._ Emma thought to herself. She was not familiar with video games as she prefers outdoor play, but she understood the mechanics' thanks to Ray. She remembered when Ray received a game boy device on his tenth birthday – which may have been another of Ray's request for Mama to gift him as a reward for being her spy, possibly to have held a key essential in creating that small gadget to nullify their tracking devices with.

From what Ray explained to her, the game he got was about a character who has to survive in a world (within game), partake in quests to help other people, and go on several adventures. She remembered how fascinated her whole family was, it was the first time any of them ever saw a game device, and they all took turn sharing it. Then a small fight broke out between Don and Lannion, as Lannion was being too greedy with his turn that he wouldn't allow Conny to play next. After pulling Don and Lannion apart, they got a good scolding from Gilda and Mama put the boys in a time out. Eventually, Lannion regretted what he's done and apologized to Don and Conny, who forgave him easily.

After that, the rest of their outdoor playtime, Conny and Ray took turns playing the game while the rest of their orphan siblings played tag. Eventually, Ray got bored of it, though Emma would sometimes catch him and a few other of the younger kids, including Conny, huddled together in a corner with the game boy in his hand, watching the tiny screen together as the main warrior fought against the evil dragon.

This preliminary sounds akin to that game, but it won't be a matter of fun. The stakes are high, and the danger will be very real. Just as it was when Emma and Norman found out about their world, the threat the imposes against all of their family, and still is.

Her resolve to win was further strengthened.

**[There will be animals as well in the simulation, you may hunt them for food or materials, but they will not be counted as a hunted monster as they are not listed as such, therefore, any piece collected from an animal will not be counted as a point. Other natural resources to compensate your energy and supplies will be provided in villages and in the wild. It is within your power to search for them.**

**The preliminary is a time-sensitive event. When the deadline is near, you will be informed of the End Point destination where you must arrive to it by the end of the day. A countdown will be provided to warn candidates of the closing time. Should you not reach the End Point by the final second, you will automatically fail regardless of how many stars you have collected.**

**Your Time Limit for the preliminary is: Seven Days.]**

_One week..._ Emma grips to the straps of her backpack. _The demon I talked to said that each round varies, so each round could have different time limits, and that none of the competitions before this one lasted more than a year._

Such a long time. It would have been very worrisome having to go endure this competition for that long, she was thankful that time was essentially unmoving back in her reality, although the concept of it was too incredible and a little difficult to understand still.

**[That concludes the Preliminary Instructions. Further information will be provided within the simulation, it is within your ability to uncover them. Do you understand everything you have been informed of?]**

Emma took a moment to regard everything that has been told, feeling the weight of it over her shoulders she carried without waver. "I understand."

The screen loaded. Another passage was typed out.

**[Are you willing to experience life and death situations, the possibility of enduring immense pain, and strive for a wish by any means necessary? Are you prepared to participate for an extensive amount of time until a winner is declared or your admittance of defeat? Do you affirm your decision to enter the Competition Between Worlds?]**

A Competition Between Worlds. Of people from other universes. It was so jarring to comprehend, yet enlightening as well at the prospect of seeing other humans like herself. Would they be children and adults? Was their worlds something similar, or completely different from where she is from? Would the worlds the other competitors are from be anything like the Human World she and her family are trying to reach?

_You should not subjugate yourself to only your understanding of your world._

Emma recalled the advice of the child-demon. How other realities have different laws, histories, even gods... It would not be much help to understand what other worlds are like if she can only comprehend the world where she is from, and barely know of with its wonders and system of ruling by a Demon monarchy. She determines herself to keep an open mind, and hopes she won't be too overwhelmed by it all.

She remembered the mention of incredible power the other competitors have, and how there would be Demons participating in this contest as well. Were they something as strong as Lewis? It would be risky to immediately assume they're friendly like Sonju and Musica, but she did not want to toss that notion aside either. She knew the pain of suspecting someone deeply, even worse when she had done it against her own family when it's believed that there was a spy looking over Emma and Norman's plan of escape, until Ray's blunt reveal.

The one-eyed demon also said something about there being _more_ beside humans and demons. Are there people neither human or demon participating? Should she be cautious of them as well? Or perhaps she should try to understand them first.

The unknown was more than likely to be dangerous, as well as the threat that this competition will promise her, but she was never one to back down from the unforeseen. Emma, who encouraged her family to escape into the unknown world full of Demons, the prospect of freedom. With this mindset, her heart is filled with hope for this chance to bring her family and the other cattle children towards that freedom, a wish that will save them all.

"I do." Holding onto her courage, she accepts the terms.

A bright sound. A confirmation bell after her answer. A new text appeared.

**[Best of luck to you. The Preliminary will begin in fifteen seconds].**

"A-Already!?" While it should have been expected and likely preferred, Emma staggered at just how immediate it was. She equipped her rifle quickly, checking its loaded ammunition as she readies herself.

**[Generating world...**

**Caution and diligence are advised. Prepare yourself.**

**The Preliminary will now commence in: 10...]**

Here it is, the awaiting test trial. Emma clutches her rifle, pressing the balls of her feet against the ground in preparation to run.

**[9... 8... 7... 6...]**

Emma gasped. Her surroundings were changing. The black sky was brightening into a lighter blue. The ground became greener, various places rose and morphed into a variety of shapes from tall to small. Colors of life were added to them, the tall objects becoming brown barks of trees with bushy hairs of hundreds of green leaves. Thick bushes and stones scattered around her. Open pathways in grass or dirt. Everything was being coded into existence, pixels until it was down to the finest detail, to genuinely appear like that of an actual forest.

**[5...]**

Emma remained still, observing in awe at the simulated world forming before her eyes.

**[4...]**

This is it. It was about to begin.

**[3...]**

_Ray... Don... Gilda... Everyone..._

**[2...]**

_Norman... I'll do my best for all of you... I'll give everything I have to win. For our future!_

**[1...]**

The world was complete. The pleasant songs of birds in trees. The fresh air of nature and its gentle warm temperature. The lovely blue sky and its calmly drifting puffy white clouds. The robotic speaker was silent; there was no point for it now, the Preliminary has started.

Emma regarded her surroundings. She looked at the few paths around her, and then at the trees.

_I need to see where I am first..._

She walked up to one tree, the tallest from the rest. Grasping the barks, she climbed until she reached the top and upon a sturdy branch, an entire view of her whereabouts was revealed to her. She was in a forest, acres of trees and mountains in the distant. There was no person, Demon, or monster she could spot or identify, nor a village or town.

_What should I do?_ Emma questioned herself._ Do I find a monster right away? Go look for a village? Or maybe I should find a Challenge Board first. If a Challenge Board has any information about whatever I might come across, then I need to get to it before I should have to hunt a monster._

There was also a matter of where she may have to stop and rest if she does not find a village by the end of the day. A hidden base she can return to, like a cave maybe? But she may end up having to travel far, so if she is to make camp, they would only have to be temporary, and a cave is too dangerous if something like a wild animal or even a monster were to be in it. She could start for the mountains where there is a greater vantage point, but there is a high possibility that it could also have a monster there, or be infested with it.

_It would be good to get five points together as soon as possible, but I need a better understanding of what I have to look out for out here._

One week is all she has. For this amount of time for what sounds to be a simple task, it could only imply that this challenge will be tricky, and may take patience to accomplish. To pick what monster to hunt, the hunt itself, and the proof of the success of the hunt.

If the worst happens that she meets a dangerous monster on accident, then she will have to make the best out of the encounter, learn more about the enemy and its strengths before she can make a move against it, or retreat if she can afford to. She must take caution not to underestimate anything she may come across.

_I can't be too eager. I have to take my time._

While she would want the ideal outcome rather than amount to the most logical path, to achieve the ideal path would be to make rational decisions. She must know how and when to be calm, to think and strategize, just as Norman and Ray knew how to apply, and in this situation...

_I'm by myself._

Her heart pinched at this acknowledgment. She was without the support of her family, without Ray, without anyone there to help her. Since the beginning, she has relied on her family, it was because of them that they were able to leave Gracefield. Their contribution was the reason how they were able to fool their Mama Isabella and escape. Even in Goldy Pond, she had the aid of her new-found friends to defeat the demons. But now, she will have to thrive on her own.

In order for her to survive and pass the Preliminary, she must enforce everything she has learned during and after escaping Gracefield. Her witness of Norman and Ray's impeccable calculating minds and capture of crucial details, the survival, and hunting skills granted by Musica and Sonju, the nameless man's use of guns and careful tread across dangerous territories.

What she has learned from her failures and success, what she gained from every challenge she was confronted with. What she has endured, and what she has experienced from others. If she is to win this competition, she must utilize herself and apply everything she has on her.

_Still..._ Emma thoughtfully added._ Even though I want to save everyone from the Demon World, I'm a little sad that I have to compete for it. The other participants must have wishes too..._

She comprehended this even as she is driven to rescue all of the cattle children that led her to fearlessly register for this competition of incredible proportions. But to delve her thoughts deeper into this, and she may lose her resolve.

_I have to focus_, Emma retreated her climb from the tree. _I've already passed the point of second-guessing myself. I have to keep moving forward._

Landing on her feet, she removed her backpack and opened it to examine the inside. The backpack carried a small supply of ammunition for her rifle, a small medicine kit to treat wounds, an empty canteen, a blanket, and other survival necessities although it is a light carry – as Emma would prefer it if she is to move quickly without having to lug around too many things.

"Huh?" Emma noticed something as she rummages through her pack. A faint gasp left her. Grasping the item, she takes it out slowly.

Three sets of flowers, long stems of sharp ends, and pale white petals that have not yet bloomed. Vida Flowers. A strange flower that sucks all the blood from a single body by stabbing the sharp end of the stem into the heart. This flower, from what Sonju has explained to her, is used by the Demons to keep the body dry so that the meat would not rot too quickly.

It was a flower especially used to kill cattle children with before they are shipped and processed, farm animals delivered to be slaughtered and later eaten, what Emma and her family were born for.

What had been done to Conny.

_Conny..._

Emma wished she did not have to find out the truth the way that she did. She wished she could have known beforehand, known somehow so to have saved her family sooner, to have warned everyone before they were taken away. She wishes... that she could have saved Conny, that sweet little girl that was nothing less than a precious little sister of theirs. It was almost unthinkable to have barely recognized that gentle spirit from the lifeless husk of her body, every color of her very youthful life, drained to the last drop by a flower like this one.

What Emma imagined Norman to have succumbed to as well.

She withheld the urge to cry her eyes out.

_All of you have suffered..._ The eldest and youngest children who were shipped before herself and the others, what other families from the other orphanages are unknowingly undergoing, and what the survivors of Goldy Pond have experienced, to see the death of their fellow members and other children right before their eyes. _I'll get us out of there. I swear it._

The grand scale of her promise did not falter her in the slightest. It was a must, no exception, or she will never be able to live with her family in peace, nor feel the right to it.

She returns the Vida flowers inside and secures her backpack. It was time for her to move now and to place her focus on her mission, else she may end up curling her body and never leave this very spot until her grief disappears.

_I better go find water..._ Dehydration is worse than starvation, lasting without food for months is nothing if left without water, especially when a hefty activity is expected. She wears the pack over her back before looking up to the sky, blocking the light of the sun with her hand while measuring its position.

A few hours until noon. That should be enough time to have everything ready for travel before the sun goes down. Hopefully, I might find a Challenge Board along the way.

First stop: either find a riverbank, natural product of the wild carrying water, or a village. With this in mind, Emma takes the dirt path. Be calm and attentive, one quiet step at a time, there could be an attack from a wild beast at any moment, she must always be on alert.

A few minutes of careful treading across the wilderness, something out of place was noticed and she immediately stopped. Looking through the crowded trees, she carefully pushes through the bushes and approaches the one with the thickest trunk. A board was nailed against it, a paper-clipped onto it with a drawn picture and a written passage.

"Is this...?" Emma walked closer to examine the paper.

**_Frenzy Boar_**

**_Threat Level: 0.5_**

**_Bio: A monster with tough tusks capable of inflicting damage that will leave you in pain. A relatively weak monster. Will not attack unless provoked. Generally lives in grassy areas and open space. Likely to be in a group or secluded._**

**_Weakness: Somewhere around the head._**

_A Challenge Board!_ Emma removes the paper from the board, examining the drawn picture of the boar. "There's a map on here too."

Drawn on the corner of the paper. A single look at it, Emma was able to tell that it marked her position and the direction of where she may find the listed monster.

"Based on this map... The area where this boar could be is somewhere west."

Folding the paper and placing it inside the pocket of her backpack, Emma leaves the bushes and resumed her way. Though she has the destination to achieve her potential first hunt, she must first make a place where she may take the slain monster to. She walked for ten minutes, assuring that her steps were so faint that it would not draw the attention of any beast that may be in hiding somewhere around her.

She learned this from watching the nameless man, how in her world while in that forest of stone trees, if they so much as make one little noise, Wild Demons will be upon them, and tear them apart with their teeth alone.

The terrifying memories of her encounter and the narrow escape of the Wild Demons send a chill to her arms and wondered if this simulation will have Wild Demons or the like of it here. If yes, then hopefully the weak spot to permanently kill them remained the same and hoped that the other competitors will also be able to figure this out as well.

She hears the whispers of running water. Maneuvering around some trees, she arrived on top of a small cliff and a stream below it. She climbed down and approached the flowing stream. Though the water is crystal clear, Emma knew from her reading of nature books in Gracefield, and the survival lessons from Musica and Sonju, that to drink unpurified stream water would be detrimental to her health. It made for a good landmark, however, and she knew a way to purify the water.

Emma regarded the small cliff beside her, there was an arch that made into a ceiling of a sort and enough space for her to lay under it. It made for a decent place to hide from any animals coming from above ground, and if there were anything to come along the river, she could always set up a noise trap to warn her so that she could quickly take to the trees and hide at the top. The trees here were thick enough as well for her to rest upon its branches and avoid any wild animals that lurk in the night while being on the lookout for any monsters that could come her way. It's decided, this will be the place to camp for tonight then.

Securing her new-found shelter, Emma takes to the side of the arched cliff. She sat down as she removed her backpack, and takes out the paper with information about the listed monster.

"Frenzy Boar... The weakness is somewhere around the head," a very particular spot. Likely so particular that she could fail to inflict a fatal hit on the first shot. Maybe behind the ear or above the back of its neck? She should have plenty of ammunition ready and on her, if it may require her to make than one shot, and there is a chance she will run into a dangerous creature on her way to this boar, so she has to have enough arrows ready.

A bow and arrows would do well as silent weapons. Preferably so if she wishes to remain discreet than using a rifle that can be heard for miles. There were enough trees around her to pluck branches from to make herself more arrows, and enough stones lying all around her to make arrowheads. Memorizing the map and location of the listed monster, Emma nodded to herself and returns it to her pack.

Time to start preparations.

/.\

The travel to find the listed monster was without commotion or distress, only one sighting of a passing deer, which Emma left alone. If after hunting the Frenzy Boar would allow her to have its meat, then she should not have to hunt other animals so needlessly. She questioned, however, if this applies to all other monsters, or if it's even safe to eat the Frenzy Boar.

If it was a Wild Demon, she could never consider eating it. These were creatures who were not as developed as the demons who could speak and think for themselves, to eat them as if they were animals would be the same as how the cattle children are treated. It was sad enough having to defend herself by killing something alive, then leave its body for the wilderness to overtake. She would have liked for there to be a better solution, but in the moment of urgency where every second means life or death - for yourself and for others around you, she had no time to think of an alternative. No time to consider if truly one or the other must perish in order for someone to remain alive.

Why does the world - her world, have to revolve around killing just to survive? Ray would think this as a silly question. It was simply the work of nature. People hunt so to feed themselves. Without food, life dwindles, every animal understood this; both predator and prey alike, even plants were not exempted from this. A life must be vanquished so that another would continue living.

Did that mean that there were no rights to be given?

Emma never had truly contemplated this until meeting Sonju and Musica. She had known the meaning of having food on her plate long before, she knew what she was eating, but she never truly comprehended the extent of prospering from the life of the Earth. It never truly struck her until learning about the other plantations. Sonju had explained to her that her family was raised in a pristine farm; the quality of the children was the most important, and only afforded by the rich.

While there was a limited number of pristine farms, in several other plantations, children were being produced as nothing more than sacks of meat, not even learning their first word by the time they turn twelve years old - the said limited life-span of a cattle child reaching maturity before they had to be killed and processed.

Born and grown without knowing or comprehending the world they exist in. Those children were alive, but they were not living as human beings, only imprisoned and fed through tubes as they thoughtlessly waited for their death. They were never even given a false life of a loving home, as Emma's family had, they were just cheap products cultivated in order to respond to the high demands of the lower class Demons. A horrifying revelation that Emma and her family were considered the lucky ones to have at least known happiness, however disingenuous it was.

It was so sickening that Emma wanted to throw up, all those poor children who were not taught the ability of speech or awareness, who could not escape even if they knew the meaning of that word. The children raised in those factories, as much as Emma wanted to defy the awful acknowledgment, they were a lost cause. There was no saving them for what they have been raised to be even if Emma were to break them free from their inhumane prisons. When fleeing is no longer an option, those children would be no different than the Wild Demons who had no sense of thought or self.

Though Emma would never admit such an easy defeat. Even if those children were doomed since birth, she will find a way to save them as well. She just cannot imagine abandoning any of them. Even if what awaits for those children is a hopeless future, they deserved better than to be left in those factories.

So can that same mercy be said for the Demons if there is no difference between them and humans?

Emma stopped. Quietly, she crouches down, hiding behind thick bushes. Before her, it was a wide field covered in grass, and in the middle of the field, there was one creature. A boar with dark blue fur, and red eyes that did not shine in hostility. Its mouth that had two tusks near the corners munches the grass it eats, unaware of Emma's attention to it.

She had her bow and arrow ready. The weakness is somewhere around the head. She pulled back her arrow by the string of the bow, her sight on a particular spot. Holding her breath and steadying her arms, she released the arrow.

A dead-set accuracy. The Frenzy Boar squealed at the feeling of the arrow piercing above its ear. It leaps around, angry noises and exhales through the snout, but the monster refuses to fall. Not a perfect fatal shot, but she was close. Emma had her second arrow ready when the Frenzy Boar whipped its body around, and spotted her messy bob of orange hair in the midst of the bushes.

"Uh oh."

The Frenzy Boar charged for her with another angry squeal. A ferocious-looking creature with harmful intentions no doubt.

But Emma has fought bigger, more ruthless foes.

/.\

It was the back of the head, it only took Emma the use of her third arrow to find the exact weak point. The second having no effect to its forehead, and the third finally able to knock the Frenzy Boar down. However, the monster was still breathing, exhausted and in pain. Struggling to cling onto its life. Emma held the Vida flower in one hand, and in the other, she gently petted the body of the fallen boar. She was already used to the role of the hunter since Sonju has trained her, it did not make her sorrow for every creature she killed any less apparent.

Stabbing this flower into the boar will drain its blood, and quickly end its life, without further suffering. She wondered if there was a Demon whoever felt sympathy like this, to a cattle child who cries out at the sight of them. She could not condone their actions if they have, but here, she was taking life so to help herself, just as the Demons were taking life to feed their people.

There was no difference between hunters who sought for survival.

"I'm sorry..." Emma apologized to the Frenzy Boar. She clutches the stem of the Vida flower with both of her hands, intertwining her fingers in prayer - the ritual of the Gupna, a tradition Demons follow when using this flower, hoping for the blessings and good health from the meat of this creature. After saying a prayer, she moved the Frenzy Boar somewhat, the chest area bare to her, and inserted the sharp end of the Vida Flower.

Not too long after, the misery of the Frenzy Boar ended, and he went peacefully. The white petals bloomed a beautiful red of life, spread and vibrant. A good color like this means that the meat is safe to eat, while in Demon's tradition, it is an offering for their Demon God.

Emma silently, and sadly watched over the deceased monster, now thinner from the drainage of its blood and much paler. A brief moment later, she reaches for her pack and pulls out a hunting knife.

"I only need one piece of it..."

She grips the tusk of the Frenzy Boar, and gradually sawed it off. The tusk was now hers, she has claimed her first point.

A startled gasp from her as the tusk suddenly glowed, shrunk and changed shape. With a pop, the tusk became a golden star badge, gleaming under the light of day.

_That's one down..._ Emma puts the star on her patch, hidden behind the strap of her backpack. _Four more to go._

Now to have this Frenzy Boar back to her camp. She remembered the distance of here to the river, then regarded the weight of the slain monster. Not heavy, but not very light either.

This is going to be tricky.

But Emma was not rated the third smartest child of her family without knowing how to be clever. She will find a way. And determined she is to try anyhow.

/.\

By the time she returned, it was past noon. It won't be long before the sun will set and it'll be dark. Before she could think to eat, she has to better fortify her camp, if a wild animal or monster were to roam and attack before letting her the chance to reach for her weapon, she'll be finished.

She was alone, she can only rely on herself to survive, even when help would have been well appreciated, as well as the company of others.

Emma slammed both her hands to her face, "Okay! I can do this!" She self-encourages and began to work to prepare for the night.

A few hours went by, the sky colored in a dark orange and red. Emma had finished carving the meat of the Frenzy Boar, a chunk of it hangs near the flames of the campfire by a stick that was stabbed into the ground. A canteen filled with river water also lay near the fire, boiling and killing potential bacteria for it to be drinkable. Her camp had a handful of stones placed around as a minuscule barrier, and sound traps that would warn her of any intrusion or visitors with the use of sticks hidden under the leaves and blending with the ground to make them hardly noticeable.

She had her fill with the bitter meat. Bland as it was without salt, there was no use for complaints, as long as she can put her hunger aside and save the rest of the meat for later. She had a few sips of purified water after it was cooled, and proceeded to put out the fire.

By this time, night has fallen on the whole vicinity. She collected her bow and arrows, rifle and packed meat using the hide of the Frenzy Boar to protect it, and stepped out to climb up the small cliff behind her. A beautiful canvas far above her head that reached as far as her eyes can see, stars lighting up the sky that surrounds itself in blue and violet rivers that flow like they were strokes of paintbrushes. Crickets sang their nightly anthem around her, and the birds have turned silent, sleeping in their nests in the trees.

Emma came to the top of the cliff, then walked to the tree that stood above her camp, climbing it as well. Taking the higher ground was far better than letting herself be susceptible to an ambush from below, she knew this from experience. During her and Ray's travel with the nameless man, they would often hide from Wild Demons by rushing to the top of the tall trees made out of stone.

Even then, they were not entirely safe. Wild Demons knew how to climb, and while the nameless man had no issue avoiding them with ease, Emma and Ray would barely manage to escape in time, leaving them with little to no sleep every night. A terrible experience of exhaustion that only sheer stubbornness could help them pull through.

Emma suspects that she won't be fully rested for tonight either, she plans to sleep in a tree after all, but she also cannot afford to lower her guard, which is why she has her rifle in both hands. Whatever may lunge at her, she will be able to react immediately and shoot before she can flee to safety. She was beginning to adjust accordingly to this way of surviving in the wilds, she quietly gave her thanks to the nameless man.

Even though it was apparent at the time that he wanted her and Ray dead because of how much they reminded him of the family he lost. Emma knew, however, that he was a good man who had suffered for so long, and she was proven right of his goodness in the end when he came to her rescue against Lewis.

_I wish I could have known his name..._

Emma lay with her backpack against the trunk, she tilted her head up to the sky, smiling at the beautiful sight. She doesn't think there was a night sky like this in her world, her family would have loved it though.

It should have been this time that she would convince all the younger children of her family to prepare for bed. She and the other older children would help the youngest be dressed in their pajamas and tuck them in their respective beds, and occasionally, Emma would read to the little ones a bedtime story to help them fall into a peaceful slumber, then listen in content to the soft snores and happy whispers of their dreams.

She had only ever known company; at the House, at her travel through the dangerous wilderness, in the bunker, at Goldy Pond. There was always someone there, even if they were strangers or potential enemies, she was always comforted by the presence of others.

Now there was none. The only noise accompanying her was the faint rustles of the forest around her and the ringing of crickets. It was so quiet, the quietest she has ever heard. Not a sight or breath of another person close by. There was no one to say goodnight to or have those wishes be returned. So utterly quiet and cold.

Lonely.

She never realized just how painful this loneliness was.

_Everyone..._ Emma hugged herself. A day without her family and friends, she was already craving to be with them again. Wanting to see everyone and missing them terribly. She would never wish this upon anyone, and she very, very much wished that Norman and the other children who were killed felt only a short moment of this before their spirits reached the afterlife.

_This must be what that man felt._

Only, she could imagine that it must have been so much worse than this. That nameless man lived over a decade alone, believing he was the sole survivor of his family. To go through years without his loved ones, their disappearance forever haunting his mind and eating away his spirit. Emma did not believe that she could ever endure all that, and her sympathy for the nameless man grew ten-fold.

But she indeed has her family still, waiting for her in the Demon World, waiting unknowingly as she works to pass this trial and many more afterward. The nameless man, though his family could never be replaced, he will no longer know the terrible feeling of loneliness again. Emma is resolute to make sure of this for when she returns, hopefully in victory. Bearing the quiet night, she closed her eyes.

_One year... I can do it. Just hang in there..._

Though that was the estimated time for how long this competition will last, it was not absolute. But for however long it will take, she will proceed without waver. This cold feeling will not be enough to break her. She will remain strong. _Endure. Learn. And Survive._

She whispered these words to herself as she gradually drifted into sleep, sending sweet prayers of goodnight to her family and friends.

/.\

The night was calm and peaceful. It was only a few times did Emma awake abruptly at the creeping sounds of crushed grass and fallen branches, then relax when the sounds distanced themselves away from her. She remained attentive, however. Cautious of any potential threat that may prowl in the darkness. At the expense of having full energy by morning sunrise, she would be ready to react at a moment's notice.

She was completely unprepared when the sound of an explosion ignited from afar.

"W-what?!" Emma grabbed the barks of the tree quickly, saving herself from falling out. The very air trembled. Leaves rustled at the disturbance of whatever produced such a startling sound as frightened birds sprung for the sky. A strange, continuing noise like listening to the river stream, but more destructive and powerful. Emma stood up, gripping her rifle, her heart rapidly beating with trepidation.

_What was that?_ She questioned in alarmed. _It came from the mountains._

The worst came to mind. Had it been a volcano? Something just as bad? She'll have to get ready to abandon this spot. First, assess the situation, decide on the best path to take, and make a run for it, flee from the impending threat.

Standing on the branch, Emma proceeded to climb further up the tree until she reached the top. It was still dark, around 2 A.M. considering the position of the moon. The strange river-like noise was still apparent. She turned her attention to the mountains.

She didn't immediately register what she was looking at.

Her urgency fell into an abrupt, confused amazement. Something had indeed erupted from the shoulder of the mountain, chunks of giant rocks tumbling down the slope. A giant, black crescent escaped to the sky. A laser beam? Emma didn't know. She has never seen one before so she couldn't be sure, but she could feel the incredible power emitting from it. Dangerous dark energy that vibrated her very soul, watching it expulsed and faded towards the stars, it left her in a shudder.

_What did that?_

A machine? A weapon? Or was it a natural phenomenon of this world that she had just not been aware of? Was it a rare example of a natural disaster, or a sign of one coming? Should she leave here now?

The sound of a fallen tree rattled her back to her senses before she could make her decision. Her head whipped to another direction. An acre away, the trees shook. Their distress snaking across the forest and closer to where she hid. Something was coming.

Emma retreated, hiding within the leaves thickened in numbers. She crouched as she looked below the branch she stood on, held her breath and waited.

A body leaped out from the bushes. Swift and agile, their feet glazed across the grass. _A human!_

He was a boy in black clothing. Blue tipped black hair that spiked upward like a flame with white highlights above his bangs. His eyes were sharp, threatening and determined. He moved amazingly quick over the bushes and boulders as he headed down a path.

"Wait Hiei!"

A breath of surprise from Emma, she sees another human running out, roughly pushing aside the bushes and spreading leaves everywhere. He was a boy with green-tinted dark hair. A yellow sleeveless shirt and dark blue pants tied with a black belt. His round eyes were lively and fierce, yet pure all the same.

Though right now they were widened with panic as he angrily shouts after the boy far ahead of him "Dammit! Don't just leave me behind you jerk!"

The boy in black, Hiei, pointedly responded. "You're the one that decided it was smart to shoot."

"How was I supposed to know there was a nest hiding there?!"

They rush further into the forest, disappearing from Emma's wondering view. She looks back to see who or what gives chase. Her stomach clutched at her first sight of the pursuers.

Long legs of an insect, hundreds of them traveled over the grass. Their bodies earthly red, their huge heads were without eyes, and in place were yellow squiggle-like lines and their two fangs that looked to be hard as stones jabbed together in relentless bites. Ants. Numerous of them, and not at all were the small insects Emma usually finds outside her home. These creatures were as big as vehicles and fast, maneuvering around the trees as they pursue the fleeing humans.

Emma grasped onto a sturdy branch as the monstrous insects pass the very tree she hid upon, hearing their tough bodies scrape against the barks as they crawled along the trunk, yet otherwise never noticing her presence. This should be preferred, but Emma's thoughts of the humans she saw threatened to expose herself.

_I have to help them!_ Was her immediate instinct. She did not know these people. They looked to be around her age, teens at most. That was all she could ever know about them at a glance aside from their appearance, otherwise, they were complete strangers. Furthermore, this was a competition where only a select few would ever come close to the chance of obtaining the wish.

However, she did not feel it right to simply leave these boys to fend for themselves. She couldn't. If she did not abandon the children of Goldy Pond even if it meant revealing herself to the Demons, then she will not do so here regardless of the circumstances.

**"-rit Shotgun!"**

Before she could act, though, something in the air warned her, a siren bell inexplicably sets off in her head. Suddenly, she hears trees and insect bodies torn apart, a powerful shake to her surroundings that made her lose her footing. She felt gravity pull her aside, even though she was still gripping the tough branch. She realized at once, the tree was falling over the cliff, and she was falling with it.

She sees the river below her. Inhaling a quick breath, Emma timed herself just as she was closer to the ground and let goes, landing onto the river water that dowsed her boots, but lived without pain or injury. A close call. She looked back at the tree she had fallen out of, it lay over the side of the cliff, upside down and over her camp. The trunk was obliterated, somehow, as if a cannonball had struck.

One monster ant fell alongside it. Its entire right side was missing most of its legs, but still alive. It struggled to recover and steady its balance. Emma equipped her rifle just as its large head turned for it.

A high, gargling cry escaped its fangs. She hears rustling from the forest, and more ants showed themselves. Shoot or run? Emma chose the latter, then the first at the same time. Bullets punctured the shell of the ants, specifically through where the eyes should be, by far more sensitive to attacks as the rest of its body was merely grazed from her bullets.

A human body tumbled out of the forest and rolled over the hill until he stopped himself at the other side of the river, hitting the water along the way. The boy looked at the ants down in the river, and Emma who was firing at them. "What the-? A kid?!"

A monster ant appeared while he was distracted, and leaped for him. "Look out!" Emma aimed at the ambushing ant and pulled the trigger. The monster ant was disrupted, and the boy was able to react, kicking the monster aside.

Another monster ant came down, this time towards Emma. She aimed, but the ant was already close, and lunged for her body. She had no time to fire, she quickly brought her rifle in front of her at its side. Tough fangs bite the body of her rifle. Its strength was great enough that it pushed her off balance, and traps her against the ground. The rifle cracks, the fangs threatening to snap it into two gouge itself into her neck. She moved at once, ducking below her rifle to avoid that fate and pushing its thorax with a kick, preparing to fire her rifle.

**"Spirit Gun!"**

A blinding light. The ant that was suddenly overtaken by it, exploding into pieces, and Emma found herself free. Confusion mended with her surprise as the now carcass of the ant was all around her in bits and unmoving chunks. She looked back at the boy.

He was holding his index finger up like it was his pistol. It triggered a memory of her fond playing with the other orphan siblings and their pretend games of shooting one another, finger-gunning with exaggerated "bam! bam!" noise made with their mouths. She wondered then, if that was exactly what he did, excluding the man-made sound effects, but the effects of shooting an enemy was what came true.

"What are you waiting for?!" The boy woke her from her shock. "Don't just sit there stupidly! Get out of here!"

The rustling of other monster ants emerges from the forest. Emma grabbed her rifle. "There's another path over there!" She shouted, pointing towards the direction behind the boy, a direction she will not be able to make as the monster ants cuts through between them. "It'll lead you to a clearing!"

The boy seemed to shout something back at her, but she used her still functioning rifle, keeping the monster ants at bay as she sprinted for another way. The monster ants injured by her bullets, and several others destroyed by another summoning of light beams, Emma reached a climbable path out of the river bank. She did not know what that boy did or how he had done it, but he has helped her. She hoped he will be able to escape too.

Running through the forest, she stopped at a particularly tall tree and hopped for it. Less than a few seconds after reaching the top, a small crowd of ants went by, missing her completely. A couple of seconds after they were gone, just as she breathed out in relief, her surroundings trembled.

She held onto the tree, bracing herself against the violent disturbance. A metallic noise pierced the bark on the other side of the tree. "Huh?!" Emma looked around. A sharp whiz in the air, the metallic noise was the work of what appears to be a hook that stabbed into the trunk, a type of rope attached it stretched out, and when Emma followed the rope with her eyes, a person suddenly appeared, the rope attached to a contraption around his hips.

"Captain!" The boy shouted out. Brown hair and green eyes. He wore a green cloak, his uniform of a brown short coat and light tan clothing, a patch on the breast pocket and on the side of the shoulders, a picture of two crossed wings - one dark blue, the other white. In each of his hands were long swords, a contraption around his hips that released steam. Pulled by the grappling hook, his body swung around the tree, another hook shot from his other hip, releasing the previous one, and he was pulled into the forest as steam launched him forward.

Emma watched him in awe before an ominous shadow fell near her and she briefly looked up. She jumped out of the tree in the nick of time before a massive boulder crashed down, destroying the ground and itself broken into smaller pieces. She barely grasped the next thick branch of another tree, her palms scrapped for her abrupt grasps.

She drops down, rushing around the trees while ducking for cover as a horrifying growl escaped into the air. Climbing small cliffs and moving through bushes. She heard ferocious human yelling and turned at the small view of the young man she had just seen.

It was a rocky plain she realized, entering or rather, exiting the forest as a new area. The boy flew across the air with angry ferocity in his eyes, the momentum that his grappling hooks and steams allowed him as his wings that also depicted at the back of his cloak. He swings one sword, slashing against the green fur and flesh of a huge creature, who roared at the pain and in anger against the fighter. It was a creature in the image of a gorilla, but with four arms, green fur, pink skin, and black eyes.

Another figure flew like the brown-hair boy. A dark-hair male carrying the same weapons and wearing the same clothes. His eyes were grimed with experience and enduring horror that left him to be unfazed of any danger that awaits. The gorilla monster grabbed another boulder, and threw it at the dark-haired young man.

He, with incredible coordination mid-air, was able to dodge the boulder. A grappling shot for the monster's face, stabbing into its nose and bellowed a painful screech from the monster. The grim-eyed soldier pulled himself closer to the beast, retracting his ropes, and slashed through the monster's face.

The other boy appeared, sliced across the back of the beasts' neck. In turn, the dark-haired male slashes through the front of the neck with his other blade, then retreated when the monster attempted to reach both him and the other boy with its four arms, two for each fighter.

The grim-eyed soldier avoided capture, but the boy with brown hair was grabbed by the leg. He loudly cursed his luck.

Emma reacted quickly. Aiming her rifle, she fired several bullets for the gorilla monster's eyes. Dead-accuracy. The gorilla monster shrieked, though only one eye was taken from him. It grabbed another huge boulder and threw it where the monster correctly deduced the gunfire came from.

She ran at once. Barely dodging the thrown rock that destroyed spot she was just on and protected herself from flying debris by taking guard behind a tree. Her efforts were earned. The brown hair boy jabbed his swords into the gorilla's hands and sets himself free.

"Follow me, Jaeger!" The dark-haired fighter yelled out.

"Yes, sir!" The boy identified as Jaeger shot from his hipped grappling hook once more and followed after the commanding officer. The beast with his bleeding eye and multiple slash wounds around his body roared after the two retreating fighters and chased after them.

They were quickly gone from her sights, by how those two people could move with those strange yet amazing maneuver gears, they could escape the monster gorilla if it calls for it.

The night was not yet done of its excitement as the forest continues its howl at the moon. Emma debated if she should go down and enter the rocky plains, but a shrill of a human deep in the woods steals her focus.

_Someone is in trouble!_ That could only be the reason for such a scream. She rushes for the source. A pained cry that could reach the sky, Emma quickens her pace as she reloaded her rifle. She arrives at a field with several huffs until coming to a complete stop behind several bushes and a rock larger than her size.

"W-wait! Spare me! This is all a misunderstanding!"

A horrible sight. An open field of grass where a man of dark hair and fearful brown eyes backs away, clutching to a bloody stump on the side of his shoulder, where his arm used to be. Sliced through by something incredibly sharp. Emma immedietly looked over to the attacker. What she saw bewildered her.

"Do not let your sympathies cloud you, Shirou. He nearly killed you while your back was turned. He does not deserve mercy."

Stepping further onto the field and towards the wounded man, the moonlight reflected the silver armor of the yellow haired teen girl, sharply unwavering emerald green eyes, her royal blue gown with white flowery twins and gold accents mesmerizing. She walks forward while holding the air at her side, dripping with blood.

_An invisible weapon?_ Emma's eyes widened.

Her mind returns at once to the man in need of help as she quickly assessed the bluntly shown situation, but she listened as the girl in armor spoke some more, "I know that you are not human. I've seen how your eyes changed. Reveal your true form, beast!"

The wounded human's pained groan transformed into a monstrous growl, and then an animalistic snarl, his eyes glowed yellow as his pupils sharpened like a wild beast. The wounded man's appearance began to shift. His body morphed and expanded, his clothes ripped apart as he grew in size. His skin darkened and his hair paled. Emma was astounded.

"A shapeshifter. Then you must be what we are hunting for," the girl in armor raised both hands to her side, the blood held up by nothing until a sudden gust surrounded it and cleared it away. "A yoma."

The roar of the yoma sends chills to Emma. "Damn you... I'll eat you both alive!" The girl in armor was undeterred by his threat and unveiled appearance, and launched herself for the monster, her feet blasting her off as if pushed by rockets. She was faster than anyone Emma has ever seen, even the nameless man who was an adult that was hardened through his thirteen years of hunting and fighting against demons in the wild was not as quick.

The monster threw his right arm for the armored girl, claws extending, but caught only the edge of her blonde hair. She pierced his side with a quick swing of her unseen weapon. Blood spurts out from the deep scar and the monster screeches. With enough tenacity, the yoma threw a kick for her body, but she blocked the impact with her invisible weapon, pushed away heavily and far aback to the other end of the field, his strength undoubted, but it was endured by the girl in armor.

"Saber!"

The yoma went after the armored girl for a follow-up attack, but a beam of light suddenly arrived and attacked the beast's left side, disrupting him with pain and allowing the girl Saber to recover and move away.

Emma looked over to the shouter. Far back, a boy with orange-red hair held up a bow in his hand. An arrow formed and popped into existence and from light in the palm of his hand. He pulled it against the strings, the arrow glowed blue, and at his release, the single arrow became several and berated the monster in piercing blows and explosions that shook the ground Emma stood.

_H-he's forming arrows out of nothing!_ The fantastical ability the little girl witnessed, like solidifying the tiny light within the air. To call it magic would be a simple way to put it, for her to describe it, she figured that such things were a probability even if she never thought to encounter it one day, and since her entrance into the Demon World, she knew that there was an even higher possibility of encountering the mystical and other wondrous things. Yet here, she is able to see real magic at the works, with the blonde warrior that had a noble posture and gallant way of fighting - _Knightly_ is what came to Emma's mind. It was like a fairytale happening before her eyes.

Another arm of the yoma was severed and Emma winced at his bellow, and watched as Saber stood her ground, holding her invisible weapons close to her side.

**"Mana..."**

The air tingled around Saber's unknown weapon, a grand whirlwind that triggered several alarms in Emma's head, warning her to leave. Now!

**"Burst!"**

A wide slash through the monster's body, its scream cut short. The rousing noise of the attack that traveled across the field like a spiral fierce gusts of pure light with enchanted blue outline. Emma sprinted to the side and slid down the hill. The boulder she had hidden behind was completely decimated by the powerful blast of Saber's power, ripping apart and disintegrating the bushes and a few trees.

Although Emma would have left scathed at worst, it was a shuddering thought that she could have ended just as worse as the fate of the yoma. But she has been through several instances of her life being under fire, albeit she was sure that just now was unintentional.

The forest continues to shout its dangers and violent scuffle from all around her. Why has everything suddenly exploded with activity? Was it that dark energy beam from the mountains? Did it agitated the entire area with its unleashing power and caused all the monsters and humans to react? Or rather, all this may be an example, a show of the various dangerous obstacles and wondrous abilities that each person carries, and what she is expected to deal with herself.

_I can do this! I can do this! I'll survive! _She determinedly encouraged herself as she ran through the dimly, moonlit forest.

* * *

**A/N: Hello readers! Welcome to my new multi-crossover fanfic: _A Promise Between Worlds_.**

**As you may have read in the summary, this story will be introducing and collaborating with multiple Anime series from Shounen, Seinen, Shoujo, and more. Old Manga series to the recent Anime adaptation. From well-known series to not so well known. In general, what will be presented is the Anime that I have watched and the Mangas that I have read, but will include references to other animes and mangas, perhaps anime video games as well.**

**For this fic, we will be reading from the point of view of Emma from the Promised Neverland, however, there may come chapters that will change the point of view to other characters. I can reason that not a lot of readers will instantly be familiar with who those other characters are from whatever series they are from, that is why I will be inputting an exposition that explains the story of those characters during either the beginning or middle of the chapter or may leave the name of these characters and the series they hail from at the end of the chapter, like this for example:**

**_Characters Introduced:_**

**_Emma (The Promised Neverland)._**

**_Yusuke and Hiei (Yu Yu Hakusho)._**

**_Eren and Levi (Attack on Titan)._**

**_Saber and Shirou (Fate/Stay Night)._**

**If there comes a time when characters have similar if not the same name, then I would probably put in something that will identify them differently from the other, such as Emma of the Promised Neverland and Emma of "Other Series."**

**They may also have a specific title to their character, or nicknames, such as Edward the Fullmetal Alchemist or Vegeta the Prince of all Saiyans. Having different last names would also help differentiate them, like Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach, and Ichigo Momomiya from Tokyo Mew Mew.**

**Now, I know having to read a lot of exposition is boring, especially when it's about an Anime you may not have read or watched, but it is exactly for that reason that I wish to put in a section explaining the backstory of these unfamiliar characters so to better grasp who they are, as well potentially recommending these series to sedate your Anime watch-time needs. ;)**

**However, not every character who will be introduced will immediately have their backstory be told, but just a "brief"(probably won't be brief) summary of their character and occupation while having to tell their backstory another time so that the chapter does not get too overwhelming(it probably will).**

**This story is about a contest and interactions between several characters from several anime series,**

_**it's NOT about who is the strongest or who is the better character or who has the better story,**_

**this is just a fun adventure I've decided to write about while also keeping true to the characters part of this story. However, there is a plot, and if it can be done, then I hope all of you will enjoy the ride.**

**Please leave a kind and honest review!**


	3. Hunter x and x Assassin

Chapter 3: Hunter x and x Assassin

A chipper morning medley of birds and wind brushing against the leaves. Emma stepped over a thick root grown out of the ground, vigilant eyes focused on the path and her now calm surroundings. She had survived the night. Running and enduring the onslaught display of superhuman abilities, skillful use of contraptions unlike any she has ever seen, and vicious beasts roaring throughout the dark wilds until finally, the sun itself shows over the horizon, and the whole forest came to a quiet.

Though she was unable to sleep the entire night, she can still manage travel on foot, hunting, and remain on alert for at least two more days before exhaustion will inevitably overcome her. This was her record when she and Ray traveled with the nameless man, avoiding that man's attempts to throw them off-course in order to be rid of them. It was a brutal treatment, one she quickly adjust to when moving through dangerous territories, it would mean her end if she lowered her guard even by just a fraction.

She chewed off a piece from the Frenzy Boar jerky she gripped in her hand, eyeing her surroundings. There were only a few animals in this vast area of thick green fertility and towering trees, watching a deer and a rabbit couple pounce away, and a waltz between white butterflies under the sunlit streams thinly piercing through the blocked view of the sky and its countless leaves. There was brief regard of appreciation for the beauty of nature and its creatures before she resumed her walk.

A couple of minutes prior during this peaceful brisk, she founded a second Challenge Board. The next wanted game was an exotic critter that lives underwater, the** Banana Fish**. Supposedly a low-level monster to capture that lives in a lake near rocky terrain. From what little was shown in the sketch of the map and direction, she deduced it to be somewhere north.

There had been no luck or hint of a village nearby, nor had she seen any contestants so far. Last night, she was certain that the people she witnessed were the other participants and hoped that they, including the boy with green-tinted hair, were alright and made it through the night. That boy had saved her, and she never got the chance to know his name. She wanted to go back and help him, but with all the chaos, she couldn't even stay in one place for too long.

She also wanted to know what he did to save her from that ant monster. She didn't see any weapon on him, only his fists, yet something he had done killed the monster like it was some kind of blaster.

She recalled the phenomenon then. That black energy beam from the mountains. She still didn't know what that was exactly, or what caused it. It seemed too amazing to suggest, but could it have been a contestant? Something that was similar to what that boy did? That dark laser was far bigger though, she can't imagine what would have released such power except for a big blaster bazooka that was the size of a tank. Of course, she only knew tanks from books and pictures, never seeing one in real life, but she can imagine that it must have been quite big.

The forest was growing denser the farther she traveled in it. The rifle she carries on her back was cracked from her struggle against the monster ant. Though it was still usable, another powerful strike would break it. She holds her bow and arrow as her next stable weapon, carefully observing the area she ambled through.

Emma stopped. Noises of rustling bushes and snapping branches not too far from her. _An animal, or a monster?_ There was no way to tell.

She immediately hid, rushing behind one of the massive trees and underneath a big root sticking above ground, allowing her a view to the other side. She held her breath and watched, waiting.

A small figure ran out. A humanoid form with a dark brown cloak over his body. "Crud. Where'd he go?"

_A boy?_ Emma was surprised. His behavior was indecisive-like, shifting his attention to his surroundings. Was he lost?

"Mmm," a pondering sound from the boy, "Should I go back to the village? Maybe he won't be too mad if I wait for him there."

She started to push herself up, there was no reason to hide herself from a fellow child. However, before she could reveal herself and say a word to the boy, there was a faint tremble she felt at the palm of her hands.

_Huh?_

The tremor grew stronger the longer she paid attention to it until she heard the gasp of the boy. She looked up to see him touching the ground, worry in his tone as he too felt the rumble. "Uh oh-"

A loud impact nearby. The ground shook greatly, causing Emma and the boy to bounce in place. A knock to her head from the large root over her, she bears it with a clutch as she hurriedly stands up, grasping onto the tree as she looked around.

"N-N-N..." The child stuttered as he looked down one direction, legs wobbling as he feebly backed away.

Following his sight, she quietly moved around the tree. She gawked in horror.

What suddenly emerged from the top of a hill before them, a large grotesque creature of terrifying appearance. Its body squirmed with dark gray thick worms as if feasting upon the flesh of the beast, thousands, perhaps more of them as if they were sentient furs. The beast's eyes were purely red with hot vehemence. Its limbs, or what seems to be acting as its limbs, extended and multiplied as it corrects its body and position, made up from those wicked worms and maggots of disturbing movements that made Emma's skin crawled with an unnerved chill.

"Nago!" The child sputtered out. "I-I didn't mean to wander onto your territory! I-"

The deranged beast looked at the child, turning its body for him without a word. The boy continued to back away, close to the brink of running away. He did not pay any attention to his steps, and the back of his feet tripped by an embedded stone. Fallen and vulnerable, he desperately tries to get back up to his feet. In his distress, the beast rushed for him.

He screamed. Terrified eyes looking ahead at what could only be his doom, enraged red intent to devour the boy. He had just found his footing when a hand suddenly grasped onto his arm and harshly pulled him along.

"Run!" Emma shouted at him. He was startled at her sudden arrival, but at the enclosing sound of the beast coming for their way, he did not argue and sprinted with her.

She quickly took him around the corner of one of the trees, barely missing the capture of the monster and its fur full of worms. With her unrelenting tight hold of the boy, they ran across the dense forest. Their small size and quick mobility through small openings that the monster could not slip through easily allowed them to stay ahead and away from the monster.

"W-wait! That leads to a dead end!" The boy warned her. Emma listened and changed direction immediately. She dragged him to the thick bushes and bury themselves within the leaves, out of sight. The monster ran past them, but after losing track of their whereabouts, it stopped just ahead of them.

Emma watches the monster with a focused glare, armed with her bow. "What is that?" She whispered, trying to comprehend what she is looking at.

"It's Nago, the Demon Boar God," she heard the boy explained. "He's the leader of the Boar Clan. This must be his territory. He doesn't like intruders, and _really_ doesn't like humans."

"Do you know a way out of here? Or somewhere we can escape?" Emma asked him, never taking her eyes off from the monster.

"Yeah, but it won't be for another few miles. The closest here is a village, but Nago will attack everyone there if we don't lose him now."

Emma contemplated. She can't lead this creature to where it may hurt several more people, and if they do move now, they'll attract the boar's attention. Whatever the case, she has to make sure that the boy will be able to escape. She_ will_ make sure of this, failure or alternative considerations cannot be accepted, not especially failure.

"...I'm going to distract it."

The boy looked at her in shock. "What?! W-wait!"

She emerged out of hiding. Running to the side far behind the monster boar, she pulled her arrow by the bowstring and fired. The left rump of the Demon Boar God was pierced, and a high-pitched squeal left the beast before it turned for her. Black maggots covering the beast extended like an arm, the Demon Boar ran for her, its sickly limb retching for her life.

"D-don't let that touch you! You'll die!"

Her eyes widened at the revelation, and she dashes to the side, avoiding the Boar God's touch barely. Keeping calm and focused, she fired another arrow, piercing the other arm that reached out for her. She ducked behind several roots growing out from the ground and uprooted trees. Wriggly insect arms slams against the wood, destroying the bark exterior completely.

_It can extend its range._ Emma calmly analyzed as her heart raced. _But it's slow to turn itself. And with all those maggots making those extra limbs, it's likely fast down a straight path._

Perhaps too fast for her to successfully escape on foot. If not for this dense forest and tights spaces, she would have been captured and died in less than a few seconds. Its weakness was unknown to her for a fatal kill, and so her other best bet would be to lead it where it will be trapped for a moment, allowing her a chance to leave it completely and for the boy to be spared from its attention.

She looks to the path where the boy said to lead to a dead end. An idea in mind, risky and perhaps foolish, she hopes for the accuracy of the boy's information. She fired a third arrow for the Demon Boar, she ran for that hopeless path just as another pained squealed was made and the boar instantly gives chase. Leaping over large roots and bushes. She took to the corners of the enormous trees when the Demon Boar came too close, regaining distance at its stagnant pace. The edge of her hair nearly grazed, but otherwise unreached by the beast's poisonous effects of its maggots.

She sees the end of her direction. A wall of an enormous boulder. She grabbed the side of her hips. The squirming and angry screeches of the Demon Boar behind her. She pulled out her four-barrel pistol, leaped to the side as the monster was about to be upon her, and fired one shot. Shutting her eyes close.

A flash ignited from the bullet. A light that enveloped the area with hot white blindness. The Demon Boar screeched, missing Emma and slamming right into the mountainside with a terrible thud. Maggots flew off of the corrupted Boar God.

The cloaked boy had arrived, his worry for his rescuer undermining his sense of self-perseverance. At the sudden flash that momentarily blinds him, he shielded his eyes with his arm and yelled. Emma ran up to him and grabbed his hand.

"Come on! Let's go!"

The effects will last for several minutes, this is their one chance to escape. They fled as the Demon Boar behind them slammed itself against the mountainside and trees, its limbs frailing uncontrollably as it writhed in distress.

They ran for as much as they could, climbing over small cliffs and rough terrains, rounding large trees and ducking overgrown roots. The howl of the Demon Boar grew fainter until it could not be heard anymore, but they kept running until they could no longer, and staggered to a stop once it was believed they were safe.

Gasping for breaths, the little boy fell upon the ground on his back, his tank of stamina cold empty. Emma had her hand against the tree to keep herself standing with her other hand over her knee. A little cough leaves her before she spoke to the boy, glancing over with one open eye, "Are you okay?"

The little boy nodded with heavy gasps. "Th...Thank you. That was... pretty awesome." He craned his head to see her. "What... What was that weapon you've used?"

Emma looked at the four-barrel pistol in her hand, finding an even pacing in her breaths, "It's a special gun. Something I got from back home."

"Yeah? Where's home?"

Where was home indeed? She and her family had left the only home they have known and loved in ashes. A home of wonderful memories, a cage in reality. They were on the run like wanted criminals seeking absolute freedom; a new life to achieve. Hopefully... No, she is certain that home will be there in the Human World, where all of the cattle children may live in peace.

"It's actually... um," Emma looked to her slightly shuffled feet. It was a very peculiar thing to confess, but the truth. She revealed honestly, "I'm actually from another world."

"Oh! So you're a competitor!" The boy pushed with the back of his elbows and sat up, eyes lighten with intrigue.

"Uh-huh," she confirmed, wiping away the sweat from her eyebrows and walked closer to the boy, holstering her pistol before offering a hand for him to take, "Can you stand up?"

The little boy looked at her a moment. He sat up and grasped her hand, "Yeah. I-"

A sudden startled reaction. The instant she saw it, fear rattled in her heart as she heard a scrape and quick rustling from behind. She turned around just as the boy jumped for her, knocking her down with his entire body. A massive sharp blade sliced the tip fringes of her orange hair as the boy's hood fell back.

"Dad! Dad wait! Don't kill her! She saved me!"

Heart raced with returned adrenaline, Emma stared at the imposing figure who seemingly dropped from the sky. An adult that carried a staff with a wide curved blade, in brown-crimson armor with silver rims that robed from his shoulders down to his ankles. His skin tone was orange, and his shaggy hair a dull red. The most distinguishing trait, however, one that questioned his humanity, was the two white horns on his head and narrowed cold, bronze-colored, animalistic eyes.

Covering her fallen form was the boy, pleading to the _man?_ he referenced as his father. His appearance is similar to the man with horns. One white bone stump on top of his forehead, a painted line below both of his eyes down across his cheeks, and tiny fangs poking out between his lips. He stood up and turned to face the adult, his arms spread in defense of her.

"What happened to you?" The father demanded.

"I'm sorry! I should have stayed close to you. I... I accidentally stumbled onto Nago's territory," the boy shamefully admitted.

"Did he touch you?"

"No! We-!"

"Are you _sure_?" An impending tone, demanding the absolute certainty from the son.

Emma remained low as she regained her footing, clutching her bow but was resistant to aim at the adult, seeing how familiar the boy was to call him his parent. There was a sure hostility in the adult's eyes, wary and ready to strike at the potential enemy that was near his boy. Her heart was beating loudly behind her chest, but she remained mentally calm. His weapon was lowered so there was no need to instigate a fight if it's not necessary, especially with her new friend speaking on behalf of her.

"Is there any discoloration? Have you checked yourselves?" The adult pressed.

The boy removed his cloak. A brown simple leather clothing and his physical appearance unveiling further, confirming his inhuman race. He round himself, arms stretched to his sides and showing his skin.

"I'm fine," the boy affirmed. "He didn't get me."

The adult's eyes swiftly examined his son's form, gradually softening in relief. They sharpened, however, as his sharp gaze pointed for the girl and her wary yet at awe expression. He gestured his spear to her. "Who is she?"

Emma looked at the weapon five feet away from them, controlling her heart and bravely stared back at the adult. He was questioning, not outright attacking.

"She saved my life!" The boy loudly declared. "I almost died when Nago found me, and then she came. She risked her life for me, dad. She's a friend."

A long regard for the human child before returning his attention to his son. "Did Nago get a good look at you? If he realized that you are among the Ogre clan, he'll incite his clan and the Orcs to go to war with us."

An ogre clan. So they were ogres? Emma had always imagined ogres differently, sloth-like and much bigger in muscles and weight, it was how they were described in the books. These ogres, though the adult was undoubtedly strong, were thinner and had an air of grace mixed with wildness, yet had a posture of pride and leadership. This was not an evil, unthinking creature. There might be a chance to reason with him.

"He didn't! I'm sure he didn't!" The boy insisted. "I had my cloak the whole time. He wouldn't have known what I was!"

Disapproval ceased the adult's expression into an empty gaze, his brows crinkling together, "You should have left carvings on the trees for me, and find your way back to the village. I've told you countless times to be careful around here, and you're telling me you've confronted the Boar God himself? You should already know that he not only despises humans but all other monsters outside his clan like ourselves. If his curse had touched you, a chance of a cure would have been a difficult journey, and a slow agonizing death is what would have waited for you."

Shocked by the ogre's words, Emma felt her sides and her arms, wondering and looking if she had been affected by that demon boar's curse. Her attention quickly returned to the adult as he began to approach the child. The boy stood his ground, bracing for whatever may come.

The adult ogre knelt down. He calmly set aside his spear, grasped the boy's shoulders and pulled him into his arms. "Thank everything you were spared from that. Our clan would have lost their future chief, and I would have lost my only son."

He caters his son a loving pat to the head, the embrace wholly accepted by the boy as he returned the gesture. More than comforted to feel the hold of his father he had feared to never see again.

Emma relaxed at his display of affection derived from his worry for his child. The love she sees and could feel, the familial love that reminded her of her own with her fellow orphaned siblings, and how much she longed to be in their warm presence again.

Releasing their hold of each other, the ogre man looked to the girl once more. His eyes no longer holding hostility. "Forgive me that I startled you. I wasn't sure what to make with a human being so close to a monster like my son. Usually, there would be a conflict between your kind and ours. It's remarkable that you would go through such lengths to save an ogre like my son."

_So they really are monsters_. Monsters who act just like humans, much like the demons in her world, much like Musica and Sonju. She didn't know that the boy was of a monster species, but regardless, even if she had known, she wouldn't have allowed herself to ignore the distress of another child and was glad to have rescued him when she could.

"For saving my son, you have my absolute gratitude," the ogre man added, bowing his head.

Ushered by her years of training in etiquette and manners, Emma hurriedly mimicked his action and politely responded. The tension utterly gone between them. "I... I'm happy to have helped."

"Dad! She's a contestant!" The ogre child eagerly tells. "We should help her! Let's bring her back to our village!"

The ogre man agreed with a nod, "Yes. We shall. I wish to reward your new friend for rescuing you." He addressed Emma with sincerity, "You will be the first human to visit, but do not worry. Our clan will welcome you, I will make sure of it."

To a village of ogres? If they were as friendly as this man and his son, Emma would be delighted to go. It was also much better to find a safe place to rest at than continuously risk herself blindly traveling the open wild.

"You'll like it there!" The ogre child enthusiastically promised, pounding his curled fist against his chest. "You'll be our guest of honor! We'll have a big feast to celebrate our escape from Nago! I'm sure that the others will be amazed to hear how you fought and survived the Demon Boar God."

"That's really nice of you. You don't have to give me anything though," Emma doesn't believe that there should be compensation for saving a life, not one she should insist for anyhow.

"Don't be modest! You deserve that much anyway. My pride as an ogre will never forget this, so I'm going to make it up to you in every way I can!"

"No need to be so insistent little one," the ogre adult reprimanded, a knowing glint in his eye. "Though, I might have done the same. We ogres have our honor, and to us, a debt unpaid cannot be stood for."

He turned and began moving towards a direction, slicing bushes away and clearing him a path in one swing. "This way leads to our village. Stay close to us, human. This territory harbors several wild creatures and other monsters that are not allied to us."

The children followed closely after the ogre adult. Emma adjusted the straps of her backpack, feeling the position of her patch in her left front pocket.

"There are other clans like yours?" She curiously asked.

The ogre child nodded, "There's orcs, elves, goblins, and all other kinds. Some monsters are more wild though, and they're the kind who would attack anyone on sight. But some of us, like our clan, wants to live a regular life and would leave others alone unless we wanted to trade. We're usually cautious of humans though, especially since recently there's been some conflict going on between other monster clans and contestants. It's a good thing that you're one of the nicer ones."

Emma pondered the ogre child's words. Conflict between monsters like this boy with his father, and competitors like herself and those she had seen. She supposes that since the other clans were monsters, it must have still counted that they would retrieve a star from them. To think of these monsters who are no different from her would be targeted made her sad, angry, and ashamed that she did not consider that there would be kind monsters like these two in front of her.

"By the way, I hear humans have names. Do you have one?" The ogre child asked curiously that pulled Emma away from her thoughts.

She nodded, "It's Emma. And yes, a lot of humans I know have names like I do. Does that mean you don't have one?"

"Uhuh. It's normal for monsters like us," the ogre child explained. "It might be different for others, but for us, a name means that we would be strong to have it, to have our own identity that seperates us from other monsters."

It was an interesting tidbit, and insightful for there to be such a weight in having something as common as a name, which makes it more disheartening to hear that he or his father, or anyone among their clan had no name to be specially referred to individually. "Then, what should I call you?"

He shrugged. "Maybe "future village chief?" Cause that's what I'll be someday!"

"Future village chief..." Emma turned her gaze to the back of their leading ogre. "Then he's..."

"Yup! That's the village chief you're looking at!" The ogre child beamed. "And one day, I'll be leading our clan when I grow big and strong."

"I doubt any ogre would follow someone that can't keep track of their own people." The ogre chief's blatant jab at the boy's mistake took its toll to the child's ego, a dispassionate pout puffed from his lips.

"So you're a contestant, are you?" The ogre chief changed the subject, directing his question towards Emma. "You must be on the hunt for a particular beast then, I hope it isn't what I think it is..."

"N-no mister!" Emma shakes her hands to decline, "And even if it was, I wouldn't want to do it. Meeting your son, you and any other ogre must be really nice people."

"Even though I had acted rashly? I'm surprised you would consider me that way," he said in bemused, retrieving his spear and standing up. "How forgiving of you. I will say this that we ogres aren't quite friendly at first meeting, but it's kind of you to think so. Perhaps we can provide information for whatever creature you are seeking."

"That would help a lot. Thank you," Emma smiled.

"Its the least we can do," the ogre chief said gratefully. "We should be there in an hour or so. We'll help you however we can once we reach there. Watch your step, the terrain gets rougher here."

/.\

Over a few hours of traveling, guided by the ogre chief's knowledge of the forest and avoiding territorial ravenous monsters of unapparent reasoning, they arrived at the village in an open field surrounded by trees. Small houses stood above the ground by wooden beams as its legs with small stairways that lead to its entrances. Paper shoji doors that slide open to the side, and rooftops with sides that curved inwards.

There was no fence or wall to protect them, there were hardly even any guards surveying the perimeters, so it was either that the ogres were ignorant to the dangers of lacking in defense, or they were very confident of their own strengths. The chief and his son's arrival drew the attention of the other villagers before they noted Emma's presence, confused and a hint of suspicions. The chief announced Emma as their special guest and friend of his son and requested his people to treat her with welcome and respect.

Moving further into the village, Emma finds only ogres to truly live here. Children of unique colorings and horns playing together, adults working outside and some viewed inside their homes tending to their chores, and other activities she sees around her. One side of the village had strong ogres dedicated to training, the other side dedicated to painting. A tailor shop in some corners, sewing delicate fabrics that made into robes which Emma realized to be kimonos, something she has read about in Gracefield with Gilda when the other girl's interest in fashion began to pique. All this, she noticed at once, were of Japanese styles and architectures. It was one thing to see the pictures in the textbooks, to see it all in actuality was a marvel to witness. It was unlike what she expected from her read of ogres in fantasy stories, instead of the descriptions of rough, rugged, and smelly monsters, these ogres were regal and such artistic people.

When news came to the other ogres, delivered by their chief as he gathered his people to the center of the village in front of his much bigger house that weighed with more intricacy than the rest, of the brave act done by the young human girl that saved the life of the chief's son, an instant renown of acceptance was shown by the ogre people, and at the chief son's appeal, a celebratory feast was in order. Emma appreciated their collected, yet amiable treatment that left a beaming smile on her face. To be around pleasant company was a nice experience to delve into again, she only wishes she could truly enjoy it if her family was with her.

She showed civility to each and every ogre, minding herself from staring at their horns and appearance in amazement for too long, and the food they brought out. The feast settled at the center of their village outdoors, mats and pillows for everyone to sit upon. Watching how they sat on their knees and began plucking food from their bowl filled with rice, cooked meat slices, boiled eggs, dumplings, and more food she picks using chopsticks. Emma perfectly copied their actions out of courtesy, and in delight that she was doing what she had heard people living in Asian countries have done in the human world.

"You know how to use chopsticks?" The chief's child asked, impressed at how easily she was holding the wooden utensils.

"This is the first time I'm holding it," Emma answered honestly as she successfully picks up a tiny clutter of rice after seeing another ogre doing the same, bringing the piece to her mouth and eating it. It was simple but favorable. Delicious.

"Oh wow! You're pretty good for a first-timer."

It was what to expect from a child genius, though she was no Ray or Norman whom she can catch up with intellectually. She absentmindedly wondered if Ray could make a Japanese dish like this. She was most certainly sure he could with ease, and mentally make a note to encourage at least one try as soon she returns home after completing this competition. Though it depends if she survives her condition at her world...

The warm aroma of the feast and gentle clash of their joined jugs that spilled the foam of their rich drink. The joy of chatter among the proud ogres and allowing their casual attitudes to come out. A friendly exchange between Emma and the chief's child as they talk about idle things and stories of their life.

"So you want a way to the world of humans and escape being eaten by the demons?" The chief's child assessed, his red brows furrowing as he hears Emma's story of where she hailed from.

Emma nodded, "And it's not just for my family. I decided that I want to save all of the children from the other orphanages. They probably have no idea their homes are really farms. I want to save my family, but there's no point in reaching for that goal if every other child is left to die. That's why I want to win this competition and make a wish; for all the children of the demon world to be transported to the human world. But..."

Her green eyes dimmed with sadness, "If I do that, there'll be a war. I don't want that, but I can't accept how it is. I left behind half of my family so that we could look for a way into the human world, and then go back for them. I don't want anyone else to die, but if a war breaks out between the human world and the demon world, then..."

A contemplative look on the chief's child, "So what are you going to do?"

Emma stared at the cup of milk she grabbed and held in her hands, "...I'm not sure yet. I know that I have to find a way where there won't be any deaths or sacrifices. Right now though, I have to keep doing everything I can, that no more cattle children are killed, and find a place where my family can be safe."

"Hm..." The ogre child said thoughtfully, openly wondering, "In that case, if every human leaves that world, I wonder what the demons would have to eat?"

Emma's eyes widened and gradually sulks further when she heard his question, a question she had no response to, yet knew deep in her heart, it was a question that would have come to her eventually, even as she determinedly pressed on in her mission with several other things worrying her mind, filled with the burden of everyone's sake in her world, yet it was not enough for her to ignore the things in between - the repercussion of her fixed goal.

The ogre child spotted her reaction and realized his own thoughtlessly said words, "AH! I'm sorry! That sounded bad. If a human would want to kill and eat me, I'd fight back."

He blinked at the human girl before him, and stuttered, "I-I mean-! That's not-! I don't mean like... Y-you know what, never mind! I take it back! I don't want you to get eaten, and your family sounds really nice, so do what you can for them! Okay?"

He shifted his seating to recover himself, head lowered apologetically, "I know that if it comes down to our clan, I would want to save every one of them. They're my family, and as the future village chief, it's my job to look after them and lead them. If anyone were to come for us and they mean harm, then we stand and fight!"

He raised his cup with a valiant grin that means to triumph over his enemies, but the sorrowful eyes of Emma retracted his moment of bravado. "Oh, but I guess you'd want no one to fight at all." He looked down at his food with nothing much else to reiterate, except his note of her nature. "You're a really gentle person."

"...I know that fighting is something that we have to do, that it might be the only way for us to stay alive. If it's for the people I love, I'd do it for them. I've been fighting for them ever since I lfound out about the truth of my home I've loved all my life. I've met other humans who fought and suffered so much," Emma contended. "It's just... If it comes down between choosing to fight and making sure no one gets hurt, wouldn't the other choice make more sense? I hate how it is, how much pain it brought, so isn't it better that there can be a resolution without having to kill anybody? Then everybody can get to live in peace."

The ogre child considered with a hum, "Yeah, that does sound good. Maybe the demons could make an exception, and they won't have to hunt humans anymore."

A thought Emma had considered before, but unless the demons have a resounding reason to do so, she has to find it and deliver it before she could bring all of the children to the human world. However, if most of the demons were like Lewis, then there was no hope for negotiations, nor can she be reckless and escape anyway. She has to think up a solution that will not lead to war while sticking true to her agenda. Hopefully, by the time she passes the preliminary, she may have some semblance of an idea.

"Are you two enjoying your meals together?"

Emma looked up. The ogre chief approached at her side with a round jug in hand, taking a swig after walking over and sat beside her and his son.

"Mm!" Emma sounded out with distinct happiness that masterfully overlaps her inner dilemma, "Everything is delicious. Thank you so much for inviting me to your village."

"For a new friend of my son, I'll offer only the best hospitality."

"Not just my friend!" His son amended. "You're a friend of the ogres now! You ever need any of us to help you, just ask!"

The ogre chief rubbed the head of his son affectionately, messing his magenta hair. "That we will. You're also welcome to come back and visit here as much as you want. I'll even set up a room for you to stay the night. While it may seem we're lacking in defense, we're a strong race amongst other monsters. You'll find it much safer here than camping out in the wilderness."

"That's really kind of you." Emma was touched at how much the ogre chief was offering, reminiscing the kindness and help of Sonju and Musica after they rescued her family from the wild and intelligent demons, teaching them the ways of making medicine from nature's providence and finding food and guiding them to their destination. They practically became close members of their family for the amount of time they spent traveling together, it didn't matter to them that they were demons. Anyone who has helped them as much as they have were treasured friends.

"That's right, you were looking for a particular beast to hunt, weren't you?" The chief ogre asked.

Emma nodded. She reaches for the front pocket of her vest and takes out a paper folded into a square, "It's this fish. It says here that it lives in a lake near rocky terrain. I sort of have an idea of where it might be, but I'm not really sure, and I don't know the forest that well at all."

"The Banana Fish?" The chief deeply frowned as soon as he unfolded the paper and saw the picture.

"Can you tell me anything you know about it?" Emma asked as she instantly caught his look that recognized the listed monster.

"Yes. I know what this fish is. There's a small number of them living in separate lakes, but the easiest lake to find on your own would be the place this paper described. From my knowledge though, only one Banana Fish is living there. So if anyone else happens to catch it, you'll have to look for another lake to find another fish like this, but it'll be even more difficult and harrowing to reach it."

A race against time. Then she must hurry to capture it before others would.

His son stood up to see the listed monster for himself, curious of the creature that appeared like any fish, with delicate flowy fins that sprouted three sharp-looking needles.

"Its size is about twelve inches, but the threat level and description here does not enough to convey the scope of this creature's capability. It's not a difficult monster to capture, but it's nothing less dangerous," the chief informs. A dark expression that warns the true capacity of the monster in the picture. "These thin talons here, they're laced with a poison that can drug you into a lucid state of mind. Susceptible to a sort of mind control that is impossible to resist, and likely cause insanity."

Emma listened to the given information, nodding her head as she comprehended each sentence said. Disturbing as it sounds, she was more than glad to hear about this now than find out later if she were to accidentally prick her fingers with the fish's needle-like talons.

"If you were to capture the Banana Fish, I recommend wearing thick gloves which a needle won't easily pierce through if you plan to handle it. Once it's out of the water, it'll flail around so - while cruel - it would be safer to let it suffocate, and placed somewhere that its talons won't reach you, once it's calmed you can finish it off by piercing the head, but it'll flail once more, so I advise that you restrain its movements the moment it is exhausted before killing it quickly, you can hold it down so long as you are wearing thick gloves, leather preferably, and use any strong material to tie it up with."

He added, "You should also protect your skin. Let nothing be exposed or unguarded, even a little poke of the Banana Fish's talons will affect you. You won't die, but it won't be a pleasant experience, and it's unlikely that you'll recover from it for several days, which by then, you would be at the mercy of whatever ravenous monster finds you, or a fatal accident waiting to happen. One more thing, don't consider eating it, raw or cooked. One member of ours had captured and attempted to cook a Banana Fish in hopes to rid its poison. It could be that it has to take days to fully purify the fish, he only did it for five minutes from what a few others with him told me. He was unable to pull through by the end of the day, we had to put an end to his misery."

"I'm sorry," Emma softly gave her condolences, her eyes unveiling remorse for the chief. The ogre lowered his head slightly, closing his eyes as if to pray for the lost ogre member.

"By no means should you eat it, taste it, or touch your eyes after handling it without cleansing your hands first. Its body is safe to grab barehanded, it's the talons you must look out for. However, if you could remove those talons, the Banana Fish will pose no threat to you, though I wouldn't simply throw it away. Put them somewhere safe so that no one will pick them up carelessly. Burying them is an option, though it's still not proper disposal."

He paused, a consideration in his neutral expression, "You might be able to use it as a weapon. I trust that you'll know how to apply them well since you've managed to fight and escape Nago. If you wish to keep them and make use of them, that is your decision. Just be sure to know how to handle them. As for the fish itself, you can bury it, or have it with you as a distraction or lure for other ravenous monsters for you to capture, it builds a sweet smell the longer it's out of water."

He provided more information then. The likeliness of the lake being filled with other numerous fishes, and that it's best not to eat any of them since it's possible that the Banana Fish's poisonous needles could have touched them. The fishes do not act differently from the effects, but they could still be contaminated with it. He then mentions that the water, despite the Banana Fish living in it, was not toxic and is actually safe to drink and swim in it, though he did not recommend this as Emma could potentially be pierced by the Banana Fish on accident; so it was a fact, the main danger lies on the fish itself.

There are also the very assured fact of dangerous monsters that roam in this jungle she must pass in order to reach the lake, what to expect and how to avoid them, offering survival advice and hiding places that the chief marks on a makeshift map he designed at the back of the paper to help guide Emma once she sets foot to accomplish her next hunt.

"This will help me a lot mister!" Despite the imposing challenge that awaits her next hunt, Emma was happy to begin as soon as possible once she retrieves her challenge list.

"I'm glad to have helped," he raised his jug to her. "Now, let us continue to enjoy this feast. Your travel should take no less than a few hours, but to hunt for the Banana Fish will take patience and diligence. We'll provide you whatever you need before you go."

Emma widely smiled at him, her cheeks brightening an orange tinge at her great appreciation, "Thank you again, mister. I won't forget this ever."

"Just promise my son you'll return. He'll want to see you again," he raises a brow suggestively, "I believe he's grown quite fond of you."

"D-Dad! Stop talking!" The chief's child puffed his cheeks and turned away, fuming to himself. A loving yet teasing smile from his father as he patted the boy's head. Emma, not quite understanding the underlining message, bobbed her head determinedly with a promise of her return, attentive to the monster on paper, an unwavering mission in her eyes.

/.\

The feast was concluded early for Emma, though it was apparent that the ogres intended to continue the celebration for several more hours while the day was still young. Rice balls, cooked small slices of meat, bread, and dumplings were contained within a plastic box that Emma was given, wrapped in cloth as she puts it inside her backpack. She thanked the ogres for their generosity and spoke to the ogre child one last time, the chief was absent momentarily, having departed to his house for reasons unknown but requested Emma to wait for him to properly see her off.

"Remember! You're a friend of our clan now, so come back anytime you like!" The chief's son said.

Emma concurred, shaking his hand she held, "I will! I'll see if I can come back here as soon as I can."

"I hope you'll find the lake. Where you're going isn't in Nago's territory, but there are other monsters you need to watch out for," the boy added worriedly, though he tried to appear otherwise as a brave little ogre with faith in his new friend. "You'll need to be extra careful not to come across them."

"You are right, little one," the ogre chief returned. "There are monsters roaming around there that could overpower a small human such as her. Which is why I believe _this_ may help our new friend to manage those dangerous scenarios."

He handed Emma a red rectangular-shaped object. In grasp, it was a device of some kind. With red and black colorings, and upon further inspection, it could flip open and showed a glass screen with a few pushable buttons beside it. "Is this a phone?"

"It's a tracker. A Monster Tracker to be precise," The ogre chief answered. "It belonged to a hunter years ago, what was left of him anyhow. I never needed it, but I'm sure it will help you greatly. It can track and notify you of nearby monsters within a fifty-meters range. It can also measure the threat level of the beast, and if you were to have a piece of a monster, for example, a fur or a nail, it can examine its content and the attributes of the monster, informing you of its abilities and weakness."

Emma gaped at the device at hand, confounded that he even had something like this. The incredible uses this item could provide her! She was honestly amazed at her luck and the ogre chief's willingness to lend her something so gainful as this to her.

"It's yours to keep," the ogre chief add on to her surprise. "For saving my son, you deserve this gift that will no doubt help you in your journey."

She suddenly remembered then. The information relayed before the start of the Preliminary of what to expect.

_There will be villages and towns consisting of locals – NPCs(Non-Participating Contestants) - who may offer you rest, food, healing, and other assistance related to your hunt with information or special items, however, it is likely required of you to assist the villager first before they would feel obligated to offer you any guidance._

The ogres were NPCs, she realized. They acted so realistically and emote so naturally, she never would have thought for the ogres to be something the Preliminary constructed to be simply characters playing their part, with lore and unquestionable memory to them. She remembered Ray's explanation about video games that a specific action has to be conducted in order for the next stage to be unlocked, or allow access for a particular path that will lead to a certain outcome. Was rescuing the son of the ogre chief a way to unlock a path for her that led her to this moment of achieving an advantage? Just like in a video game?

As quickly as this realization came, it left without resistance. It did not matter to Emma if these ogres were NPCs, their kindness and friendship felt very real to her, so it was simple to treat them as much. And even if_ logically_ they were not considered real of existence such as herself, she did not think she would have done anything differently when she first saw the ogre child in trouble.

Emma attempted to formulate the words to describe her feelings, but settled with a simple action. She rushed forward with her arms out, and wrapped them around the ogre chief's waist. The ogre chief did not expect the embrace, but he accepted it warmly, patting her head.

"Come back to us safely, Emma," the ogre chief spoke softly. "Not many humans would treat monsters like us kindly, you are the first to do so. For what you did for us, we shall welcome you as we would of anyone among our clan."

A final word of parting and a prayer of success before her travel from her new friends, Emma lets go of the ogre chief. She granted a hug for the chief's son as well, bid her byes to the other ogres who took to her well and finally sets out, leaving the village as she waved at those carrying high hopes of her returning.

* * *

She ventured into the wilderness. The Monster Tracker has proven its effectiveness. Whenever a monster was within the fifty-meter vicinity, the device quietly beeped in alert, prompting Emma to hurry and hide out of sight. It saved her the trouble of running into and away from the vicious and enormous creatures she comes across. It was disturbing to consider that if she was without this tracker, she would have been faced with said creatures, the chance of escaping and fighting them successfully without knowing their weak points considerably low and far too risky.

She also realized that the device identifies the name of each monster she distantly encounters and could also map her surroundings, which will help her immensely to retrace her steps once she captures the Banana Fish and return to the ogre village if needed. Emma amended to repay the ogre chief for his gift in any way she could afford, maybe she should bring back a few rabbits.

A few hours of her maneuvering around the treacherous forest and avoiding deadly encounters, she finally arrived at the edge of the jungle to rocky terrain, a large blue water lake before her that expands around and behind a cliff. Looking at the water, she could make out the sight of several small fishes swimming, none matching the appearance of the Banana Fish.

It was then that Emma realized she did not have a fishing rod. She mindfully scolded herself for overlooking such an obvious necessity if she wishes to capture the fish, and berated herself more for not asking if the ogres could lend her one if they had any. They must have believed she would do fine on her own skills if they didn't think to ask how she intended to fish from this lake. A short temper tantrum for this simple mistake, she took in a breath and exhaled.

"It's okay. I can figure something out..."

She'll need a line, a net, and a bucket to place the Banana Fish in. She may be able to find something from the forest she can make a rope out of, like the vines. She could also use those vines and perhaps the cloth that covered her lunch box as a net. As for what to use for a bucket, it may just be simpler to dig a hole deep in enough to safely drop the Banana Fish inside, using her hands or a sharp thick stone as her shovel. Now her only issue is the bait to lure the Banana Fish with. There might be some bugs she could find and dig up in the jungle.

The sun was high above her head, she approximated four hours until the sunset. She must prepare herself and begin fishing at once before nightfall or she'll have to delay it until tomorrow.

Emma retreats to the edge of the jungle and climbed a tree. Several vines were collected, though it was a struggle to pull them down, she improvised with the sharpened stone she used to make her pointy arrows, and cuts the vines down much easier. She collected and brought the vines together into a large pile, enough to make her rope and net. She expertly tied the vines over and under, bending them and twirling them around, making knotted corners. She then proceeded to dig a hole just a couple of feet away from the lake for the Banana Fish to lay inside. The complete process for both things lasted around thirty minutes, and it was time to enact her plan.

But before that, a test run is in order. She pulled along her net made out of vines, the cloth she unwrapped and stitched using the point of her arrow as a needle to push the vines through the fabric edge, handling it with adept precision, never forgetting the knitting activity she and her other siblings do during winter to make scarves, mittens, and such. It was a small net, but Emma believed it would do well as she wouldn't be able to haul that many fishes with her strength alone. So at the expense of having a smaller net that will catch fewer number of fishes, she will be able to reel whatever in easier, and if she sees the Banana Fish, she has to make her throw an accurate one and catch it on the first go, or else she'll scare it away and prolong her hunt for another day.

Emma had never fished before, let alone catching fishes by throwing a net, so she'll have to take her time practicing.

It took her two tries before she became fully proficient with it. On the first throw, she barely caught one fish, using two ropes with each serving different purposes. The shorter rope was to close the net, and the long rope was to pull the net in. One single fish was trapped, while a few others with it were able to escape the net and quickly swam away.

On the second throw, she was able to catch three fishes. The trick was that she has to throw and let the net float in the water, waiting for any fish to come in the net's reach, then pull it immediately. A small chunk of rice she had it tied at the center of the cloth as her lure, her second try showed its immediate effectiveness. She imagined that it would be a simpler method to use a fishing rod, but this form of fishing will suffice.

Now all that's left is to be on the lookout for the Banana Fish. She memorized the appearance of the underwater critter, and from what the list reads, its scales were bright yellow, its fins faded white. It wouldn't be difficult at all to spot it from the rest of the small gray scaly bodies swimming all around the lake.

She waited. Silently watching. Carefully observing for that yellow body of scales and white fins.

After an hour, finding a large boulder to sit on and rest, Emma gently reigned in her net, providing more bait of rice and throwing it back into the water. The sun was coming closer to the horizon, a faintly orange covering the sky. If nothing was achieved today, she will try again tomorrow.

However, she thought, if there has yet to be any progress, then it would be best to move on and search for another challenge board. There is still five more days left until she can collect all five stars. Yet Emma remained determined to seek and capture this fish of poisonous dexterity, yet otherwise a harmless being. Once Emma sets her mind to something, she stubbornly commits to it until nothing else but a compromise is left, and she may have to give up on capturing the Banana Fish - though to give up was never something Emma could accomplish with ease. Still, as the hour passes, she began to wonder.

Was there any chance that the Banana Fish still remains in this water? Emma hadn't considered this until now. Could it be possible that another contestant had already arrived and captured the Banana Fish? If so, then if she wishes to continue her hunt for the fish, she'll have to look for another lake just as the ogre chief mentioned, but the journey to search for another lake is promised to be even more difficult than this one, and it could consume more time than she would have to spare in search of other monsters to hunt.

That being said, if the Banana Fish was already taken from here long ago, then there would be no point to idle here any longer. But unless she can confirm that the listed monster does not truly live in these waters anymore, then she can't go knowing that she likely missed her opportunity. Her thoughts then turned for the Monster Tracker she had with her, if the Banana Fish is labeled a monster, then surely this tracker can locate it.

Just as she reached for the tracker she had in the pocket of her vest, it beeped suddenly. A monster was near, coming from the lake. Could it be what she is hunting for?

She stood up but remained in place. Waiting. The beeping continued as the tracked creature grew closer. Its sound was low for only her to hear and would not risk her position to be exposed, but wisely decided that if the monster is coming too close, she'll have to lower the volume.

A small splash rippled the lake, Emma straightened her shoulders in attentive alarm. Leaping from the waters with a small hop, a yellow creature with pale white fins and needle-pointed talons. Its scale glimmered from the slow submerging sun behind her.

Her tracker bleeped with updated information: **[Monster Identified: Banana Fish. Threat Level Estimated: 1.5].**

_There it is! _She withholds her excitement so as to be discreet and not frighten the fish away.

The Banana Fish dashed across the water, its appearance muddled but it's color distinct that she kept her eyes on it even as it swam in questionable agitation. It reached her net. Without waiting for it to pause or risk allowing it to swim past it, Emma pulled the shorter rope and closed the net.

"Yes!"

The closed net shook and protrude with jabbing from the inside, bobbing in the water. Emma began pulling by the longer rope towards her.

It stopped dead in the water. There were obvious movements in the net, but the net could no longer be pulled no matter how much Emma tries to drag it. She tugged the rope a little harder, it tugged back.

"Huh?"

The net sunk. A harsh and powerful pull that forcibly heaved Emma into the lake before she could react. Her yell near-instantly filled with water. She didn't register the embrace of a splash, feeling nothing but a rushing force that relentlessly attacked her with a freezing sharpness against her face. She knew, however, even with her eyes closed, that she was being dragged across underwater. Holding her breath as best as she could.

Panic and questions ran through her mind instantaneously. Was this another monster's doing? But the Monster Tracker hadn't notified her of a second presence, and the ogre chief would have mentioned if there were other dangerous beasts to look out for in the lake. So what was this? What was happening?

She thought to release her hold of the vine rope, but she did not wish to lose her catch. Suddenly, a break out from the rush across the waters, and the sensation of air was felt, she spat out water and inhaled at once for breath.

"Ah."

Blowing through her nose and the little drops of lake water. Emma opened her eyes with a heavy breath.

A young boy stared at her. Nonplussed amber eyes. Emma tightly clutched her rope, the agitated net above her with a fishing line attached to it. She stared back at the boy, her fear vanishing into bewilderment. His black spiky hair a shade of green at the tip, a green uniform and shorts. In his hands is a fishing rod, which he held without trouble even as Emma was hanging at the end of its hook.

Forty feet above the waters on top of the cliff the young boy sat upon.

"Ah!" The boy shouted as soon as he fully comprehended the girl in front of him, so surprised that he lets go of the spinning reel. Emma gasped when she felt the immediate drop, but it was a short-lasting as the boy latched onto the reel again, "S-sorry!"

He turned the handle continuously, pulling Emma up by the line until she reached with the base of her feet to the edge of the cliff, dragging herself with the boy's help until she lay on the flat ground beside him.

"Are you okay?" The boy asked.

Emma covered her mouth and coughed until her throat was soothed and somewhat cleared from lake water. A deep breath, she gazes back at the boy who was kneeling on all four, amber eyes observing her curiously.

"Y-yeah," Emma managed to say. _Did he just fished me out?_

To reel in another kid at this height, he had to be really strong to do something like that.

"Hey Gon! Everything alright?"

Another young voice broke out not too far behind. Emma craned her head to see, from a tall rock, another boy showed up. His hair fuzzy white and blue eyes that heavily, heart-achingly reminded Emma of another. A white shirt with dark blue underneath that covered his arms as his sleeves, and dark blue shorts.

"Killua!" She through her ears clotted with water from the boy beside her. The boy in white hopped down, his hands in his pockets.

"Who's that?" He asked as he approached. "Did you just pulled her out of the lake?"

"I guess so. Hey, what's your name?" The boy in green asked her, waiting for an answer expectantly.

Emma regarded both boys in a slight daze, finding the rhythm in her breathing. "E...Emma," she answered absentmindedly out of polite trained habits, "What... about you?"

It was a strange manner to be so casual after having just experienced what it was like in the eyes of a captured prey swimming underwater, but the purity in the boy's expression and the lovely blue eyes of the other boy ceased any reason for caution or worry. She did not feel danger from either of them, and was actually perfectly calm. Even curious herself.

A wide, toothy smile from the boy in green. An open and honest expression of infinite wonders that have known to brazed through harsh challenges. "I'm Gon!"

The other boy went to her other side, a bemused pout to the girl lying on the ground. Calm, collected, the personality akin to a boy she knew very well. He raised a hand in a nonchalant greeting. "I'm Killua. So, you want to tell us what you were doing swimming around here?"

He questioned the drenched state that left her in a shiver as the warm presence of the sun stagnantly began to lower itself from the sky. Unsure of what happened herself, an amazing idea that this boy truly got her out of the water with his fishing rod, she explained as best as she could, saying that she was hunting prey that lived in this lake. That she used a catching net she made herself and had trapped the small creature when she was suddenly yanked into the water. Killua looked at the fishing rod still connected to the catching net of the struggling fish inside. He instantly understood.

As did Gon. "Oh..." He said sheepishly after giving her a towel from his backpack. "Sorry, this is my fault. I tried reeling it in gently, and when I felt a tug I pulled harder. That explains why it felt a little heavy."

"Sounds like you guys caught the same fish," Killua assessed as he went and takes down the wriggling net. Judging by the soaked girl, it was obvious who won the tug of war.

"So you really are the one who pulled me in?" Emma found that incredible. The only other child she knew who was physically stronger than that of an adult and could even indirectly survive against a demon was Adam, and that was purely due to the genetic experiments he endured in Lambda. This boy, however, did not appear to have any mutations in his body. Simply a strong child.

She glanced at his backpack when a particular object glittered under the setting sun, and to her surprise, sticking onto the side of his backpack was a patch with two small golden stars on it.

"Are you guys competitors?"

Gon nodded, unhesitant. "Yeah! Are you a competitor too?"

Emma nodded with much eagerness. _Competitors. Other participants. That means..._

"Are you from another world?"

"Yeah! We are!" An answer to be boldly stated without consideration, it would have been thought that this boy was other imaginative or out of his mind. But with such confidence radiating from him, Emma believed him wholeheartedly, after all, she was no different.

Amazing. Truly amazing! Other humans from other worlds! She had so many questions, eager for more upfront answers. What were their worlds like? Did they live in a society of other humans? So many questions she wanted to spill out all at once!

"Then you must be from another world too!"

Another yes demonstrated by Emma.

"Cool!" Gon declared in amazement. "We've heard that there would be people from other worlds participating. That's really awesome!"

"I thought the same also!" Emma bounced in place, riddled with excitement joined by the enthusiast boy.

"So you made this net?" Killua asked, returning to them while holding the bag of vines and cloth.

"Wow. That's pretty good! You must be really creative," Gon commended.

"Thank you, I actually didn't have a fishing rod so I had to use whatever I could," Emma watched as Killua began to untangle the closed opening, "W-wait! Be careful! That fish has poisonous talons!"

The boys looked at her, unaware of this information. "Really?" Killua held up the net closely with interest.

"Yes! It'll affect your mind if its needles pierce you!" She urged.

"...Huh."

"How do you know that?" Gon asked her. It was not a question of distrust, but simply wondering.

She explained her meeting with a group of ogres after rescuing their chief's son. "EH?! You met real ogres?! That's so awesome!" Gon's overawe interrupted her before ushering her to continue.

Once she finished, she firmly affirmed once more, "An ogre died eating this. That's why we have to be careful with its talons. It's safe to touch the body but it's not if you touch your eyes afterward. You definitely shouldn't eat or taste it either."

She looked back at Killua to see if he understood or believes her word. She saw him with the unmoving Banana Fish in his hands. An odd, piercing wound at the side of the fish's head besides his fingernail.

He lifted one of the fins, the poisonous needle in between his fingers, and licked it.

He licked it.

Emma gaped at him with a wide open mouth.

"Oh yeah. It's poisonous," Killua confirmed.

Gon expresses unquestionable belief, "Oh? It is huh-"

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

The towel fell off from Emma's shoulders, she stood up with widely shaking arms that demanded to understand this absurd action. "W-we, we have to get you to a doctor! You'll get sick! You'll go crazy!"

They looked at her as if she was the strange one. Killua smiled at her, "It's alright. Poison doesn't affect me."

"Huh?" Emma lowered her arms, "I-it doesn't?"

"Nope." He confirmed in an easygoing manner that honestly shocked Emma. "My body can take anything. Laxatives. Drugs. Even cyanide. I can tell how poison taste, so you're definitely right about this fish."

Did he want to confirm it simply for the sake of it? Impervious to laxatives, drugs, _cyanide_? That definetly doesn't sound safe at all. What sort of body did this boy have? No, rather, what made him realize that he even could survive poisons in the first place?

"You said it's these needles that we have to watch out for. Can't we just remove them?"

Emma snapped out of her thoughts at his suggestion. "Y-yes. The ogre chief said that it would be safer. But only after killing the fish so that it won't suffer. I-it's also safer that it won't struggle and pierce you with its talons out of self-defense, it'll also still flail once you-"

"Don't worry. I already killed it."

Killua lay the fish on its side, its body was limp, utterly lifeless when just a moment ago it was fighting inside the net.

Emma stared at it, confused. "How... When did you kill it?"

"When I grabbed it," he lifted a finger, "And used this."

His nail extended into a sharp, like a thin straight dagger with a white blade, startling Emma into flinching. She looked on in fascination, moving her head for the sharp nail at a closer inspection. "Whoa..."

How in the world could he manipulate his fingernail like that? Could all of his nails do the same? Amazing. Just what_ is_ his body?

"I know right? Killua's really cool! Especially when you get to know him," Gon boasted his friend.

"As if. You've seen me use this several times before. It's no big deal," quietly flustered by his friend's kind comment, Killua turned his head away. "Anyway, we got what we were looking for."

Emma realized then, "Oh. You guys were hunting the Banana Fish also."

They nodded. "I guess you were too, huh?" Gon asked.

Emma slowly nodded. This was a dilemma. They were all wanting a piece of the monster, but if only one was supposed to have it, then who should have it? She wouldn't want to fight over something as silly as claiming who made the first catch. It's a shame, but these boys were nice, she'll have to rescind the Banana Fish for them. It was only the right thing to do.

"Why don't we share it?"

Gon's immediate solution surprises her.

"Would you really?" Emma asked, an uplifting feeling in her heart. He nodded and looked at his friend for affirmation. The other boy pondered, humming in his throat and soon agreed.

"Sure. We can do that," a quick pull to each talon from one fin. Killua offered three for each of them. "Let's see if it'll work."

Would it be acceptable for their claimed prize to be shared among competitors? To Gon and Killua, they have reasons to believe that yes, it should be allowed. After all, they have been sharing their game and retrieve two pieces, one for each, from the previous monsters they've hunted, and they both had gained a star. It was only instructed that one contestant should not be able to collect more than one piece of one monster, but nothing is against two contestants collecting one piece of the same monster.

Emma carefully grabbed one needle, Gon picked out the second and Killua remained with the third.

A glow surrounded the needles, and then a pop. One golden star in each of their fingers. Emma beamed at it. "Yes! We each got a star!"

"Great! That means for us, all we need is two more stars, right Killua?"

Killua nodded, "Right. Shouldn't be too hard for us, with the time we have left before the preliminary is over."

"Hey! How many stars do you have?" Gon then asked Emma.

She answered without qualms. "With this, only two. So all I need is three more."

"Was your last hunt as easy as this?" Killua questioned as he puts his star badge in his pocket, presumably where his patch might be.

"I wouldn't call it easy. It was with a Frenzy Boar. I had to try three times before I was able to find his weak spot."

"A Frenzy Boar?" Killua said. "We've heard of those monsters, those guys are actually simple to handle. Better watch out for the stronger ones, our last two hunts were especially pretty tough."

She nodded, agreeing to his point,"I know. When I was heading for this lake, there were monsters I came across in the jungle that looked so strong, I had to avoid them."

"Wait. The jungle?" Killua looked at her in surprise before glancing at the edge of the forest. "You mean the one over there? The village we passed by told us that place is filled with seriously strong monsters."

"You came from there?" Gon queries, as bewildered and all the more curious of the girl.

"Well, yeah," Emma answered. "It's where I met the ogres. I actually fought against strong monsters before, but only because I knew their weak points. The monsters in that forest would have killed me if I didn't hide, it would have been too risky to try and figure out how to hunt them, so I just decided to avoid them. I've only managed this far because of what the ogre chief gave me-"

Her eyes widened. "Oh no! I hope it still works!"

She reached the second pocket of her vest, pulling out the Monster Tracker, garnering interest from the boys. She opened the device.

The screen was shown to be working. The mechanics were still in good use but still worried, she looked to Killua. "Excuse me, can you carve out a scale for me please?"

Wondering her request, Killua followed through with it to see what comes of it. He swiftly takes a small piece much to Emma's impressed feelings and handed it to her. She places the piece at the center of the screen. A ripple effect behind the screen, it then lit up with a ringing sound.

**[Analyzing... Analyze completed.**

**Identification: Monster. Name of Species: Banana Fish.**

**Updating... Capture Level: 1.5. Threat Level: 5.**

**Biography: While a harmless creature of low difficult capture level on par of any fish, its needle-like talons carry a poisonous effect that will mentally degrade anyone of low-poison resistance]**.

She sighed in relief at the well functioning device, discovering its water-proof durability. Gon and Killua went around and looked over her shoulders to see what it was she was testing, seeing the information on screen.

"What do you have there?" Killua asked.

"It's a tracker," Emma explained. "It's what helped me avoid all the monsters I came across. It can notify me of any monster within a fifty-meter radius, and it works as a map too."

"Oh wow. That's really useful! You can use that to find any monster you want."

Emma would agree with Gon. "Yeah, but the tracker only tells me the name and threat level of whatever monster that's nearby. It doesn't give me any hint of how to defeat it unless I can get a piece of it."

"Still, that'll give you some serious advantage," Killua stated. "You better be careful and make sure no one takes that from you, especially if that's how you were able to stay alive for this long."

A blunt observation that did caught her by surprise but also have her think, and slowly nodded. "Mm. There are a lot of strong monsters I've seen and faced. Luckily, I have my rifle and other things. So I should be okay."

"Guess so, but there could be monsters that might be bullet proof or has a really hard shell. We've heard stories about those, so you should watch out for them," Killua mentions.

"That does sound like it would be tricky," Emma said thoughtfully before adding without pause, "In that case, I'll just have to find another way, and even if I don't know how, I'm sure I'll figure it out."

"Hm. Yeah. That makes sense," Gon lightly said with a smile. To him, it was a satisfactory, completely understandable answer that he mindfully agreed with. Killua thought otherwise as he blatantly regarded the two who shared a nod, their mindset practically in synch already._ Another one who's as simple as Gon._

"Where are you guys heading for now?" Emma removed her damp vest, retrieving the towel and pressing against her wet neck and series of black numbers.

"There's one more list we have on us. After this, we'll have to look for more Challenge Boards," Killua tells. "Our next hunt is actually somewhere in that jungle, we were planning to go in after the Banana Fish just to see how dangerous it is. We can't be too reckless since it's swarming with monsters, but we might get more stars over there if we do go in."

Emma fathomed his reasoning. It may prove to be effective, but dangerously risky. She considered for a brief moment before asking, "Do you want me to help you?"

A startled cough from Killua from her abrupt suggestion. Gon blinked at her. "Would you?"

She nodded, "Sure. The forest is really dense so you can get lost pretty easily. There's also lots of traps that can kill you if you're not careful," She picked up to show her Monster Tracker, "With this, I'm sure it won't be a problem at all. I can even help lead you to hunt for the rest of the stars you're missing."

"That's great!" Gon's expression lit as Killua looked on surprised. "It would really help us a lot with your tracker. Wouldn't it, Killua?"

"Uh, well yeah, but..." The other boy started, "We're in a competition. Wouldn't it be like you're helping your opponents?"

"I don't mind!" Emma immediately stated, offering her hand, "You guys seem nice anyway. I'd be happy to help."

Gon happily joined hands with her, "Wow. Thanks a lot!"

"Ah. Well, I guess in exchange for helping us, you would want a share of what we're hunting for, right?" A question of precaution as Killua tested the intention of Emma's helpful nature. "This is only the preliminary. Everyone will be focused on making sure they can secure themselves for the real thing. Some will probably get it the best and easiest way they can find. I don't mind you having that idea, but it's better that we know what our priorities are, so might as well be honest with each other."

Emma paused at his words. She looked down in consideration before returning her gaze, "Well... I did thought about finding Challenge Boards for myself, but I can understand your suspicions. In that case, maybe we should help each other? I won't obligate you to share with me, but if you do, then I'll do the same, and in the meantime, I'll help you guys with whatever hunt you're on."

"Sure! We can do that!" Gon quickly concurred with the terms, much to Killua's lack of surprise of his immediate agreement without fuss or further elaboration. He'll have to make up for that with his own habit of safeguard.

"It's too bad I gave away the boar hide to a new friend I made in the ogre village. I would have given it to you instead..." An idea bloomed behind Emma's green eyes. "We should visit the ogre village! It's only a couple hours from here, they told me that I can come by anytime I want. Maybe they'll have information on the monster you're looking for."

Gon thought about it and then looked to Killua, "What do you think?"

Killua pondered as well, "Hm. Well, if that ogre village told you more about the Banana Fish than the last village we went to, it might be really useful. Hear more about the next monster we're hunting from monsters themselves. If they're willing to help us anyway."

"They're nice people," Emma assured. "I'm almost positive they'll help you. After meeting them, it made me realize that not all monsters here are something to be afraid of."

"Maybe," Killua said before mentally countering to himself, that although perhaps a possibility, it's also to admit that there were some meant to be frightened over or be on alert. It was safer to be cautious than to be sorry. He then stood up. "Alright, we can start going tomorrow. The sun is going down and you still need to dry off." It wouldn't do them well if their guide-man were to get sick.

"I'm really sorry about that..." Gon apologized with sincerity. Emma assured him that it was an accident and she did not hold it against him at all, even mentioning that it was very impressive he could pull her all the way up here with ease.

"Let's make camp around here," Killua added. "We'll need some wood to make a campfire."

Emma agreed. "I can go get some. If you guys are hungry, I have some rice and other things to eat! I have to get back down for my backpack anyway."

"I'll help you!" Gon volunteered. "Killua, can you take care of the Banana Fish?"

Killua shrugged, "Mm. Sure. I'll figure something out with it."

"The ogres told me that the meat could make a good lure as bait," Emma informed. "We can use it for the next hunt."

"Sounds good, I'll go ahead and cut it up then. See you guys in a bit."

"See ya!" Gon waved at his white hair friend before leaving the way down the cliff, Emma following behind the boy in green. "So Emma, you said you made that net yourself? Have you fished before?"

"No. This was my first time today," though she remembered when she would pretend the bath was a lake when she bathed with her younger siblings. "I've only managed to catch about a couple of fishes on my second try, just to practice before I let them back into the water."

"Your second try? You must be really talented!" Gon said, highly impressed.

She smiled before then asking, "How long have you've fished?"

"Since I was really little," Gon proudly exclaims. "The best memory I had was when I caught the Master of the Swamp on my home island, the biggest fish I've ever caught that was about the size of a baby whale."

"You live on an island? That's really cool - wait _how_ big was the fish again?! You must have been really strong to reel it in!"

Killua watches as Gon and Emma climbed down the cliff in casual pace - knowing Gon is taking his time so to have Emma catch up, though they were both quite acrobatic enough to climb down the hill with ease. It was without a doubt to the ex-assassin, the attraction between like-minded people and similar personalities, those two would be getting along well enough.

* * *

A warmly lit fire burning sticks, ripped chunks of tree barks, and tall grasses that present its light in the darkened area befallen by the night sky and its distant moon shadowed by dark clouds. The three children sat around the fire and its comforting warmth, an air of heat that blanketed Emma's front and she still damped clothing, setting her vest and boots to dry by the large rock.

Gon offered her an extra leg of the cooked rabbit he caught as an apology for his earlier doing to her, no matter Emma's constant assurance that he was not at fault. She decided to accept his gift to alleviate his guilty feelings and resumed her questions of the boys; specifically, who they were and what sort of world they hailed from.

Apparently, they were Hunters, but not of the usual hunters that sought out animals in the woods for their hide and meat, they were the sort of Hunters who seeks_ everything _in the world - their world to be precise. Discovery of new species, fragments of forgotten history, deadly ailments, and cures for said ailments. There were various themes and focus every Hunter has an interest in finding, but in the most basic form; they were Hunter's endlessly craving for Adventures.

The Hunters in Gon and Killua's world do all matters of jobs, from body-guarding elite figures to seeking abandoned riches in dangerous territories, to mercenary work, capturing wanted criminals, and venturing into uncharted lands. It was as incredible as it sounds, even more so with how passionately Gon expresses the occupation of a Hunter.

"My own dad even left me with my Aunt Mito when I was a baby," Emma hiccupped in shock at Gon's telling, "If a guy is willing to leave behind his own flesh and blood, choosing to be a Hunter over being a father, then being a Hunter must have been that amazing!"

An optimistic view that surprised even Emma, especially since it was parental abandonment he just described. She actually found that kind of positivity inspiring, wishing to achieve that same level of mindset. She had always been the positive sort, especially around her family to not worry them so, even for all they've been through, she never lost that spirit that drives her to keep going, and it seems she's found a fellow human with like-minded tendency as well. "You're really not that bothered?"

He shook his head. "I wanted to see what made being a Hunter so amazing and to find him one day. It hasn't been easy, and he left me a message that he'll be avoiding me at every chance as soon as he realizes that I'm nearby, but that's what being a Hunter is all about. And going on all these adventures with Killua, it really has been an amazing experience. Being a Hunter is fun!"

"Gon's weird like that," Killua remarked with a faint smile. "It's not all fun, it's a dangerous job too. But he's so optimistic about everything that you can call him an idiot for it."

"I'm not an idiot! I'm just being honest!" Gon angrily shouted.

"Yeah? Well, maybe you're_ too _honest! Like an idiot," Killua mocked with a funny voice that aggravated the other boy.

"No, I'm not!"

"Yeah, you are. I've basically counted all the times you've done something so reckless."

"It's not so bad... and it's hasn't even been that much."

"See? Even you admit that you're an idiot, idiot."

"Okay, so I'm an idiot! But you're the idiot who's with me so how about that!"

"It's so that I make sure you don't die,_ idiot_," The white haired boy stretched the insulting word humorously.

They argued and stuck their tongues out. A mix of angry disputes and playful camaraderie that showed their close friendship. Emma silently observed them in a way that was something of a trance. A familiar sensation like reminiscing an old dream, a clear view of the boys like looking at the hazy reflections of two friends she has been missing for what seems so long now. Always together, never apart.

Until they were stripped from the presence of each other. How cruel it was to be reminded so relentlessly. Of Norman and Ray. But she remained determined. It was for their sake and selfless acts in each their own way that she will have them be answered for its worth. That their pain and suffering will not be in vain.

A gentle expression, Emma looked on with a fond, yet sad smile. "You guys have been through a lot together, huh?"

They stopped their argument to answer. "Yeah, you could say that," Killua said as Gon nodded. "I should tell you the story of how this_ idiot_ almost died and got his hand blown off because he didn't want to stick to the plan."

"I didn't almost die."

"Yeah, you did."

"Did not."

"Did too."

They revamped their exchange of mockery and deflection, Gon repeatedly shouting "Did not!" As Killua countered a "Did too!" A small giggle behind Emma's arms that wrapped around her knees, and soon enough, she broke into an openly seen chuckle.

_Norman... Ray... _She thought lovingly of her best friends, of her family. _You probably won't notice or know, but I'm okay. I'll be back home as soon as I can. Just wait for me._

* * *

Day Three.

A sense of serenity in the vast wilderness that is the jungle. Sunlight streams bathing the plants and flowers, entering through little openings from the head of the trees. Grandiose trees in width and length that harbored several wild critters from squirrels to sparrows.

A sudden crack of the barks, the thick to thin that made thousands of roots tear off from the ground as the entire massive tree fell over. A grand-size beast stepped over it, a monster with half the body and head of a lion, its hind legs reptilian with a scaly tail, and nimble bird feet. It sighed an ominous growl, treading through the thick jungle as it seeks potential prey to chew.

"Over here is a deep ditch. It looks like there's some thorns and spikes down there," Emma whispered from what she sees through the tracker. "Let's move across this branch to the next tree."

"It really is a good thing you have that tracker." Hiding within the trees shielded by millions of leaves and branches, Killua quietly spoke his thoughts to Emma and Gon as they watched the monster move further away.

Avoiding unnecessary conflict was better than starting one and exerting energy that should be saved for their current objective, even if fighting the monster may earn them a piece of the creature and thus a point, to do so without a plan and without familiarizing their surroundings, and without knowing what sort of defense capability the creature has, they would just risk their lives recklessly. This was learned from their last hunt. Who knows what to expect from an unknown enemy in a place that could be the death of them if they so much as make one misstep?

Gon marveled at the distancing beast while Emma focused on the screen of the Monster Tracker. Reliant on this device that not only grant them a visual scope of the general shape of the area, but helps them avoid traps like deep ditches with blood-thirsty spikes at the end and vicious creatures disguised by nature's scenery, blending in with the environment, perfect to make their ambush, even underground as well.

"There's one more monster north from here. We should take a different route, that Chimera might end up fighting it," Emma advised.

Killua nodded. "Alright, what about east?"

"It's all clear. Let's go."

They followed her direction. The shiny screen their guiding beacon, and Emma, the girl who carried their leading torch. They carefully traveled through the jungle wearing their backpacks and weapons at hand - Killua was without one, Emma imagined that he must think his claws are enough, and when she asked if he'll truly be fine without something else to fend himself with, Killua assured that he was fine and that he has more than his dagger-like fingers to fight with.

When she asked for elaboration, Killua merely shrugged and told her that he may show it to her soon, once they locate their monster. Gon carried his fishing rod, showing once before his ability to use it as his unique weapon. Emma openly wondered how he could hunt monsters with it, and Gon decided to demonstrate.

Eyes darkened with intense focus, he threw the fishing line in the air. A startled chirped noise at the end of it.

"Whoa!" Emma yelled when she witnessed a sparrow being quickly reeled in, the bird caught while it was _flying_. Releasing it from his hook, suffering no harm and easily flying away from his grasp, Gon cheekily smiled at her gawked expression.

"That was amazing!" Emma highly praised. "What is that fishing rod? Can I see it?"

"Sure thing!" Gon handed her the rod, watching her examining it with her green eyes glittering with intrigue. "It's really just a normal fishing rod I had with me since I lived on Whale Island. I brought it along when I went to take the Hunter's Exam and it helped me out with a lot of things. After passing the exam, I kind of stopped using it as a weapon, but for this round, it's a great way to catch monsters off-guard."

"I was wondering if you were ever going to use that as a weapon again," Killua mindfully said. "I even remember the first time I saw you, you had that rod with you. Thought it was weird like you were expecting to go fishing at the exam."

"Yeah," Gon slowly uttered, a moment of thought. "Maybe I should use it more often. But I want to rely on my own fist more than anything-"

"Look! I got a bird too!"

They looked back at Emma's declare. The little girl, with a glorifying smile and eyes glowing achievement, held between her fingers the fishing line at the edge of the hook, a bluebird struggling by the end of it.

Young eyes widened and mouth parted in pure disbelief as they stared at her.

"WHAT?!" Gon's astounding screech had Killua cringed, loud enough to hurt his ears. "You actually did! It took me _all day_ before I was able to catch a bird with that rod! You even told me you've never fished before!"

"I just saw how you did it and tried following the same way. It was kind of tricky, but fun!" Emma gleefully said as if it was a simple activity anyone could have done. She helped the bird fly free and returned the rod to the baffled yet purely impressed Gon.

"Wow. You really are amazing!"

"Uh, yeah..." Killua rubbed the back of his neck in befuddlement. "You're actually kind of skillful, huh?"

A bright look from Emma, she then checked her tracker, "From here, we can take this path over here. It's so far the safest. But if anything comes up, I'll let you know right away. Let's do our best!" She pumped her arms eagerly.

The boys nodded, raising their clenched fists. "Osu!"

She continued to lead the way as they walked around enormous trees and pushing through bushes for several minutes. They narrowly avoided a deathly pitfall full of poisonous flowers if not for Emma's guidance, swinging over the pit and to the next tree using the vine ropes (though Killua and Gon merely had to jump over the fifteen feet gap, much to Emma's continuing amazement of their skills as she could only reach about less than that). Climbing over boulders, large roots and even taking paths over the trees with its branches wide and tough enough for all three of them to sit together and walk across, chatting occasionally about idle things such as exchanging age - the boys were about two years older than Emma, and they all began to tell their family life and the like as they pass the time while they travel together.

"You have over thirty siblings?" Gon was boggled by the information relayed by Emma. She nodded.

"We're actually not related by blood," she informed, "We all lived in the same orphanage, but I always thought of them as my family."

"Oh, I see. So you're an orphan," Gon comprehended at last. He beamed, "It must be nice to have a family that big."

Emma smiled widely, "Yeah. It really is. I would've loved to introduced them to you guys."

Killua listened to their talk with a few interest, slicing away another thick bush with such grace and ease that Emma stared wondrously, marveling every time he initiated his quick gesture of attacks for someone just a year or so older than her. She wanted to know how he was this strong, but before she could ask, they arrived at a sizable opening within the jungle. A green flat field with daisies sprouting in some places and little ladybugs flying around.

Emma noted the area with a glance, "It should only take about another hour until we reached the ogre village. I hope that's okay."

"We don't mind!" Gon reassured kind as they stepped onto the field. "We trust you-"

The Monster Tracker suddenly beeped, the sign of a monster nearing. Emma quickly lifted the device and opened the screen. A monster presence was noted, represented by a white dot on a grid, just entering the fifty-meter radius. There would usually be no cause for worry from such a distance, except, from her brief examination of the field, towards where the monster was coming from, it looked to extend about thirty or so meters.

At this position, once the monster enters the vicinity, they'll be spotted immediately.

"There's a monster coming from that way! It'll see us in the field!" Emma alerted the other two. "We have to hurry!"

Moved by her urgency, they broke from their easy walk into a run, catching her off-guard at their speed as Gon grabbed her hand and hurriedly pulled her along.

Twenty meters.

They reached the other side of the area, blocked by thick trees and pathways covered by bushes that would take too long to cut through.

Ten meters.

They hastily climbed the trees, Killua reaches the top first while Gon gives Emma leverage, lifting her off the ground with her foot to his hand, and send her upward as her hand outreached for Killua to quickly grasp, and pulled her up without any difficulty whatsoever as Gon hurriedly climbs after them.

Five meters.

They bustled together behind the numerous leaves and branches thick enough to hide them, holding in a deep intake of their breaths. A view of the area through the small openings, Emma peeked as she held herself in place, no movements to draw any sound, and quieting her Monster Tracker as well. The other boys stilled their movements and quietly observed, hopefully when the monster arrived, it won't hang around for too long or else they'll have to leave the quietest way possible.

Of course, even if they attract the monster's attention, naturally they would fight. If the monster was strong, Gon and Killua would persevere in any way they could, the only issue was their new companion. She knew how to defend herself, but it would be too dangerous to unveil their "abilities" while she is in range, and with her having the tracker, they could risk damaging it as well. They'll have to convince her to keep herself distant while they can let loose. It would be a perfect opportunity as well. After all, they were in this competition to train.

Though Gon does have one personal desire in mind.

One meter.

The monster then revealed itself.

_...What? _Emma stared, confused.

Gon blinked, his feelings the same. "Huh? Isn't that-"

"Shh!" Killua shushed Gon, eyeing the unveiled being with a narrowed, cautious gaze.

The figure stepped onto the field with a steady pace, sharp eyes of yellow chrome surveying the area, a predatory glare that dared anyone to cross his way.

Emma was sure what she was looking at, though it was an unnerving display. A massive thing being carried over his shoulder, a dead creature with a long serpent-like body. The Monster Tracker vibrated in identifying the monster; declaring it a **[Devil Serpent]**. Its appearance was most certainly demonic, purple skin with a pale wild mane and three unresponsive eyes, a massive jaw that could eat a whole person in one bite.

It seemed undeniably dead. Emma wasn't aware if the Monster Tracker could notify her the presence of dead monsters, then again, was it that dead monster it was tracking? Or was it in fact the creature that walked across the field. The creature that looked so...

_A human? _Emma identified.

The person wore a black, long-sleeved, skin-tight shirt that pronounced the abs and muscles on his body. Tan-colored baggy pants with a yellow belt tied around his hip and black slip-on shoes. He seemed physically injured with small cuts to his clothing, but nothing so severe, his face only scuffed, a sharp expression of golden irises that made him look intimidating, wolfish. He walked without trouble as he carried the obviously heavy thing over his shoulders. White spiky hair, closely silver, that split upwards into twins as if they were his horns, a wild dexterity that loudly announced his fierce nature.

They watched silently, a mild agitation that disturbed their instincts. Their wondering eyes observing the human being before them, as the new hunter comes into light.

* * *

**_Competitors Introduced:_**

**_Gon and Killua (Hunter x Hunter)_**

**A/N: Just to warn you all now, this story may not be updated frequently. I have returned to classes so this story may face delays as I focus on my new semester as well as trying to update my other stories.**

**This is something I posted to pass the time when I'm suffering from my lack of inspiration for my other stories and this fic is something I've been thinking for a while. Honest feedback is much appreciated, as well as theories for where this story is leading (I have an idea of a plot already set but I want to hear what you guys think).**

**Until then! I pray for the best new year for everyone!**


	4. The Hero Hunter

Chapter 4: The Hero Hunter

His eyes shot open. A sharp gasp at his sudden consciousness. Wild, alerted gaze that pointed to the sky before his surroundings and current position, pushing himself to sit from the floor he had been laying on his back. The floor lacking distinguishing temperature, a simple boundary that was neither warm nor cold, nor is the breeze or the light of a day that was the last he recalled feeling.

He first noted his current place, a clear dark field like glass but un-fragile. A dark abyss of the sky without a cloud or star, so he can't be sure if it was even night or if he was in some kind of underground. The inside of a building was not suspected or even suggested, no walls to see or an end at all, but miles and miles of this empty space of clear solid ground and endless black sky. A white glowing line that reached all across the horizon, disorienting to focus, reality questioned.

At the sight of the unfamiliar place, he kept calm. He was alarmed, guarded and of course, confused, but he did not fear easily - he was the one to ignite such feelings from others. The first thing he knew to do was not to pointlessly panic, he kept calm no matter agitation tapping outside his hardened heart. He searched through his memories, scratching his head that sprouts white color splitting to two as he thought what had last happened.

He then recalled.

"Right... that damn bird took me."

Before that, he had been in combat before a massive centipede monster emerged from the ground. His hopeless struggle against his former teacher and his teacher's brother, his desperate fight against the S-Class hero of mechanical and human properties that shot fire from his palms, and before them, his barely clutched victory against the A-Class Heroes that pushed him to his limits while he had been drugged, exhausted and previously beaten by two opponents that included the Strongest Man in the world, and a guy in a dog suit.

Following those events that occurred all in the span of a single day, when he had clawed his scalp and bloodied his hair in his own blood as he psyched himself up for the unreachable opponents he knew deep down he had destined himself to fight one day, no matter his desire to avoid fighting his old master for the sheer impossibility of defeating that person, and having no interest with old memories resurfacing under the tutelage of said man.

He had been spared from being beaten to death when that monster of a phoenix man took him by the shoulders and that centipede monster began its attack, it aggravated him though, that his preys were latched from his hands bruised from beating their flesh and broken bones, stained by their blood.

It especially left him a bitter taste that those heroes had likely died when that massive centipede monster appeared, it wasn't something to be called concern, he just never intended for any of them to die. What good would dead heroes do if they will not live to tell the tale of their defeat? That their support and love from others that made them seem invincible was proven undeserved, that they were not in fact always victorious in every battle as others had believed heroes usually succeed at, that they were losers who had lost to a villain.

For them to live, they would suffer the humiliation for the rest of their lives and spread the word of the one who brought them down to such a brutal state, shattering their brave and idealized facade, adding to the growing infamy of the human monster -

The Hero Hunter, Garou.

There was no point in minding himself the lives of those heroes now. Not that he could have done anything at that moment. Exerting the last of his strength, he didn't have the energy to deny the unwanted rescue from that red-yellow bird and break free from those bird feet that held his shoulders, and last he recalled was darkness, so he must have fallen unconscious.

Garou is also quite sure that his master, his master's brother and that S-class hero would be able to rescue and move those wounded heroes away from danger, so there is a chance his efforts will not be lost, but a hidden worry rises in his heart, would even his own master be able to defeat that beast?

He was somewhat grateful to avoid what had the potential to be his demise by escaping his master's unforgiving, punishing attacks, but he did not wish for that old man's demise, and he certainly won't give any thanks to that bird monster, he would have even killed that creature for intervening actually.

...Now that he thought about it. He realized that he was no longer suffering the incredible pain of his injuries. His thirst for water and food completely gone, and a brief examination of himself, he was in his undamaged attire again, no tear or scratch to make note of. Did that Phoenix man healed him somehow, or had he taken him to someone to mend his broken body?

So what then? Where had that phoenix monster taken him? He remembered his previous meeting of the monster, being recommended to join this Monster Association; an enemy of the Hero Association, Garou had refused to join, of course. He had no interest in including himself in a group no matter the mistaken assumptions that their goals are claimed to be the same, he was a lone wolf, always alone. Those monsters did not and will not understand his vision, no one has, or ever will, and he is perfectly okay with that. He has long accepted his lone journey.

Even though, that one time, there had almost been someone. When he had put forth his life in keeping that little boy alive, and in response that little boy had run from him out of fear at the sight of his bloody and intimidating appearance, earned after viciously beating those heroes that boy had witnessed.

That one time he had reached out for him as the little boy ran away, the opposite of how he originally behaved around Garou. Their occasional meetings as they share that handbook listing heroes and monsters in great detail from strengths to weaknesses; a great source of information Garou used to his advantage when hunting heroes, and regretted not getting to properly thank the boy for his unknowing assistance.

But at that moment when he had survived and was the last one standing, with no one to congratulate him and the only one there, to have turned away in terror, their time together became a distant memory.

And he was alone again.

**"Greetings."**

He spun around, one arm extended to attack as the other crossed over to defend, fingers baring like fangs. Feet spread and the balms pressed against the ground, ready to react.

There was no one in sight.

**"Remain calm. There is no mean for harm. Communication has been established to reach you."**

Like the air was speaking to him, a robotic-like female voice rumbled in his ears that gave him an annoying itch to his lobes.

**"Currently, you are unconscious at the base underground of the Monsters Association. Your mind is in a state that is between life and death, though your body is treated with good care. I deliver a verbal invitation from a plane of existence between realities. You have been chosen to fill in one more available seat as a competitor for the competition between worlds."**

Hearing the message that had a similar tone to an automatic speaker that answers to voicemails, Garou merely let out a simple, unimpressed "Ah?"

The formless speaker continued, **"The competition between worlds is a contest of selected individuals from various dimensions to compete in several challenges for the grand prize of a nigh-omnipotent wish, capable of altering reality of one's dimension. You have been chosen for your strength and will to represent your world-"**

The speaker went on explaining the competition. Garou offered only a moment of his attention, coated in slight bemusement before it dwindled and he placed his focus towards his void environment. He decided to try his luck, looking in one direction. He was not sure where he is hoping to find or expect in this land of nothing but he certainly won't waste his time to amuse the formless speaker.

**"-There will be participants of several skills and capabilities... Where are you going?"**

He dismissively waved at the sentient air as he walked. "Not interested."

**"...Are you certain?"**

He stopped and glared at the sky, as likely a way to directly speaking to the invisible speaker, he affirmed with a point of his finger, "I'm in the middle of something here. I'm not getting sidetracked with whatever scam you're trying to get me into. You can go ahead and give that invite to someone else."

**"It's not a scam. There is a wish at stake and there are powerful participants wanting to achieve it."**

His head perked a little to the side, lowering his hand, "Powerful huh? How powerful?"

**"Every competitor's strength varies. They could move the earth or cast devastating destructive effects. The competition consisted of hunters, warriors, heroes-"**

The tips of his fingers twitched.

**"-and many more. You also do not have to worry about missing any tasks you are currently pending in your world. Time is irrelevant between the realities, and you may return from competing without a day in your world having passed."**

Strong contestants. Like what he was so promised at that martial arts tournament of hardly any difficult opponents? It was wasn't even laughable how much of a challenge they lacked for him to evolve himself physically and mentally. Would this competition be any different? Would it actually provide him a challenge that will further develop his skills?

That promise of time being still at his world while he's gone was also very convenient - if not incredulous. But he does, in fact, need to get stronger. He'd been faced with a few roadblocks and barely managed to get over one with those A-Class heroes. He will also need to ignite vengeance towards that S-Class cyborg, and move on hunting the rest of the heroes. Entering this competition might be a good way to train...

As for the wish? He couldn't care less about it, though, hearing it had him wondering...

"Hey. Are there actually heroes fighting to get that wish?"

**"By the statistics, there are indeed numerous amounts of them with the desire to compete for the prize."**

So. Those heroes believe they can achieve whatever they desire through simple means. Getting someone else, or something with greater power, to answer their every wants. Like a coddled child asking their parent or school teacher to grant them leeway that would spare them any accountability, not having to earn for it with their own work.

_Cowards._

Rather than break their back into two and push themselves to accomplish any desired feat with their own hands, they want to take the easiest way possible. They want to make a simple request and be answered, no questions asked. A solution that won't leave them any lasting issue in the least, as if everyone gets that glorious, pampered treatment. A revolting act that has them receive everything, and leaves the rest like himself squandering for a cent of that chance with their very lives. It was unacceptable, he absolutely cannot ignore this now.

"Alright, you got my attention."

A cruel grin that marked his intensity into a terrifying mask, "So tell me how many competitors I'll get to hunt in this event."

**"Over 3.7 million have entered."**

He instantly dropped his bravado into a jaw-dropped astonishment._ Holy shi-! That's a lot! _He should have figured if there were other worlds, there would be a number of people to participate in this, quite frankly, ridiculous scale of a contest, but for him to compete against that many?!

**"Once the Preliminary concludes, the number of contestants is sure to cut down. By then, several hundred thousand will officially compete. The competition is estimated to usually last a year. During your participation, time in your world will seem to be unmoved."**

The speaker explained,** "A passing year would be close to a passing second. At least, until you regain consciousness from your state in your world. All sustaining injuries you had will be erased once you enter the Preliminary, after that, you will be faced life-threatening scenarios that upon death, disqualification, or loss, your consciousness will return to your world. Further instruction will be provided at your registration entry."**

A clipboard popped into existence from a puff of smoke, several papers attached to the wood. A fast swipe of his hand that instantly caught the thing, Garou looked at it with a low frown.

**"Please fill out all requested information, provide your signature, and carefully read through the waiver in its entirety."**

A single-note hum from Garou as he read, marked and signed the papers. One question had him paused, the fill out section asking for his race with a much broader selection of choices, ranging from Human, Demon, Cat, etc.

He circled two answers. "Here, I'm done."

**"...Are you sure you wish to register under that label? You are likely to be identified as that should there be devices that only examine contestants at a surface-level.**"

"That'll be my problem to deal with," Garou declared, holding up the clipboard. "I've been willing to carry it for a long time."

**"Very well."** The clipboard vanished from his hands in another puff.** "Your information has been accepted. The Preliminary will be commencing soon. Good luck to your participation; Garou the Human-Monster."**

/.\

The children stare at the person carrying the dead beast with cautious observance. The man they see having the same white hair as the ex-assassin but with silver highlights, more so like the hair of an old man, but the person's face didn't have an ounce of wrinkle apart from the piercing scowl, a tall adolescent body well-built yet slim. He was a fighter, Gon and Killua knew at once, and something about the dark wearer set Gon at edge as someone they should not carelessly trifle with.

Emma merely observed with open curiosity, a wonder in her gaze. Was that person an NPC? Or another competitor like them? An instant intrigue mixed with wariness in her verdant eyes as a pitting unease settled in and sends a subtle chilled hum to her skin. She briefly glanced back at the tracker in her hands and back to the person. Was the tracker reading that dead Devil Serpent? Or was it reading him? The only reason for this cautious question was her memory of that knight in regal blue fighting against what that person called to be a shapeshifter. Could this be what they were looking at? Emma can't tell for sure until the man separates himself from the monster corpse.

They watched as the wolfish-haired person stopped at the center of the field and dropped the dead Devil Serpent, seeing it completely, it was a rather big creature, about thrity feet long and several feet wide, almost as big as the demons from her world but longer, it's limbs with sharp claws laying limp from its side. The dark wearer than crouches, grabbing one of the front claw of the Devil Serpent.

A swift movement of his hand too quick for how a normal human would, Emma watched amazed as the hand of the Devil Serpent was severed, and he held it casually.

"If that's another competitor, we should leave him alone and keep moving." Killua's words brought her out from her quizzled staring as she regarded the white haired boy. "Let's go. No reason for us to keep staring at him anyway."

And that's when they heard a crunch, pulling them back to the sight of the man, and their eyes widened.

"He's..." Gon started.

Chewing in between bites of what looks to be tough flesh of the Devil Serpent, they watched Garou eat the creatures severed limb, an enrichment that surprised the wolfish fighter, tasting the meat and tearing through the bones of the Devil Serpent's hand that looked about as big as half of his own body. Due to their distance from the fighter, they did not hear him quietly utter.

"Hm. Not bad." Probably should have cooked it first, but it would do well enough of a healing nourishment for him to close his wounds that involved from his fight against this once incredibly active beast. He swallowed down the raw meat with its bone fragments and all, leaving himself the finger of the Devil Serpent, whose red claw-nail he pulls out like plucking a needle, torn from its connection.

"Did he just..."

"Yeah," Killua answered Gon, eyes narrowing. Emma felt the chill grew even colder, further enraptured by the view of the dark hunter for a little longer alongside her new companions.

The finger claw-nail envolped in white glow as Garou ate the rest of the Devil Serpent's finger, and a gold star appeared between his fingers. Finishing the remainder of his light meal before diving into the rest of the main course that lay motionlessly beside him, he slips the earned gold star into the pocket of his baggy pants where the corner edge of his patch could be made out, confirming his status as a competitor.

He burped lightly, scratching the side of his face.

And then whipped his heads towards the children's direction, wild eyes of dark yellow chrome that instantly sunk dread to their stomachs.

Danger screamed their heads, as Gon and Killua were the first to make a move, grabbing Emma by the arms and sprinting from the tree and down a path opposite from the now aware competitor behind them.

_He noticed. He noticed us!_ It couldn't be possible, they were using their Zetsu, which means that young man must have felt Emma's presence. _Damn. Damn!_

_Those_ _eyes. _Gon gritted his teeth, a rush of fear coursed through his heart as a single immediate sweat fell from his temple. _He's dangerous. We have to get away!_

Emma dangled in constant abruptness while grasping the arms of both Hunters at each her side. The shot of terror she felt at those eyes, that horrifying look as if spotted by a predator displeased at being looked at, now finding new prey among them. She noticed the fierce rustling of the trees in front of her. Tailing after them, though she couldn't see his figure, she figured intuitively who it was. She warned them, "He's following us!"

Killua clicked his tongue before shouting to the other boy, "Gon!"

"Right!" An immediate understanding. No other choice! Coming to a stop with their feet sliding across the ground, they heaved Emma aside. "Whoa!" She yelled out, tumbling over some bushes and falling within them.

"Stay out of sight!" Killua said.

"We'll handle this!" Gon declared.

Emma rushed to her feet, but at their call, she remained hidden behind the bushes, putting away her tracker and equipping her rifle right away. She watches as the boys turned quickly, facing the direciton of their pursuer, while she watches their backs.

Gon and Killua knew, the experience of the ex-assassin and the instincts of the aspiring Hunter they knew better than to shake off. This is a strong fighter. They will have to take on this person together, and keep Emma at bay. She was assorted with weapons, yet from what they could tell, it would not be enough against a man like this, it certainly wouldn't for themselves. And either way, they have to keep her, a ranged fighter only, at assured distance.

And in addition, for them to fight this man themselves, they must be sure that Emma would not get caught up by the result of their powers.

_Whatever it takes..._ Killua removed and threw aside his backpack, reaching into his pocket, his middle finger slipping through a ring that was attached to another weapon he had on him.

_We have to keep Emma safe. _Gon tossed aside his backpack and fishing rod, his fists clenched by his sides.

_She's our only guide who can lead us through this forest._

_We have to make sure we don't lose her and the tracker._

A faint white glow surrounds their body, an aura that cannot be seen by the human eye nor of any human who does not possess the same type of ability these boys possess. Yet, as Emma observed them, she noticed something had changed. She couldn't see how, or come to a conclusion as to why, but the air about them, for some odd reason, they appeared to be somehow stronger.

_So that means, _Killua's eyes narrowed.

_Only one thing, _Gon tightens his clenched fist.

Unseen from her very eyes. The aura around the boys spiked.

_We have to fight!_

From the tall trees, their pursuer dropped down. A perfect land on the base of his feet, he slowly rises. Arched back that straightened into a muscled lean figure, as the wolfish fighter glowered at the awaiting people.

"...Huh?"

Garou raises an incredulous white brow. "Just some kids?"

Gon and Killua heightened their senses, their feet spread to either run or attack. The man, however, seemed disinterested, arching his back a little further as he grabbed his hips, gilded irises looking aside, "Huh, and I thought I was following some real deals. You runts sure did get far enough ahead of me though."

His sharp gaze spotted the golden glint of the three stars Gon's backpack reveals from its side, the patch and its carried prizes seen as clear as day. His white brows rose with interest, "Oh? You runts competitors? Now you _really_ got to be something if you're here."

His sight returning for the tensed duo, he leaned forward with his hands kept at his hips, "So? You want to tell me what you were watching over me for?" He pulls a smirk across his sharp feature. "Or are you kids just looking for someone to play with?"

They were unmoved by his taunt, their gaurd up and and remainin their wary focus. They say nothing in response, evaluating the man as they ponder their next action or even a response. Emma held her breath, lying low and watching the worded exchange between the three competitors with a tempered beating heart she keeps calm. At Gon and Killua's lack of response, Garou drops his smirk, his left foot pressing against the ground, slightly scrubbing the dirt with his toes into simply leaving a small round imprint.

"If you ain't got much to say, how about you at least tell me what you want?" he evaluated the stances of Gon and Killua, he recognized their posture as their experience of having fought before. "If you kids are looking for a fight... Or maybe you thought you can try to ambush me?"

With the barest quick movement of his foot, he kicked a pebble and it shot between Gon and Killua. Neither of them were expecting it, and Emma was too invested to even realize what had just happened until she felt the breeze of the pebble fly over her head, slapping her favored ahoge as stricking a tree behind her, her head whipped around for it. Bright green eyes widened at what could have been her own face to have endured that. She didn't even had time to react.

"Is that what your other friend is hiding there for?" Garou asked as Gon and Killua looked in shock at what could have hit their guide.

_He knows._ Killua was in disbelief, _Emma can't be seen from where she is and she's far enough where it should only be us that this guy should focus on. His senses are insane._

They did not hear her pained cry, or the sound of the pebble meeting flesh. It must have missed her. Killua's eyes widened in horror as he realized he'd looked the direction of where Emma hid and his eyes dart back for the awaiting wolfish competitor. _Damn! Even if he didn't know, he does now. This guy is just bad news._

Does he intend to hurt them? To steal their stars? Well, whatever the reason, they have to deal with this man now.

"Sorry if I ruined your game of hide and seek, but I don't have time to play around," Garou said with a wary look that could bring fear to the weak-willed, or have others turn tail and run. But neither was done by the boys, they were Professional Hunters.

Gon dashed to stand in front of Emma's direction, glaring with baring teeth at the man. Killua followed his cue, quiet steps that walks to the other side of Garou, being eyed at by the older competitor. "Right. Well, neither do we."

_Let's see just how good his senses are..._ Killua dared to test, Gon made a sound with a slight slide of his feet against the ground as if ready to move and brought Garou's attention back to him. Taking this chance, Killua's body darkened into a black color.

**_Zetsu._**

The presence of Killua vanished.

Garou's face fell into a startled as he quickly turned his head for the boy at his left, but found him no longer there. _What the-?! Where did that kid-?!_

The sounds of sharpened blades extending, Garou side-glanced back to his front, a set of white dagger-like fingernails near his throat, the blue eyes of the boy sunk to the deepest depths; the face of a professional killer.

Garou dropped to his back just in time, bending his knees with his footing remain in place. He turned his head and narrowly dodged the sharp nails, his cheek scratched, a thin line of his blood surfacing. _How did he just-?!_

He looked at his right at the sight of movement. Gon ran to his side with his fist pulled back. Garou's hand shot up to protect his own face and he blocked the punch. The surprising impact that carried a lot of weight for a child's hand, it pushed him away as Killua pulled out his second weapon from his pocket. A yo-yo with its string attached to the ring he wore for quick retrieval.

The yo-yo was thrown, it spun with an incredible force, piercing across the air. Garou regained his footing by forcing his feet against the ground and reared his head aside, watching the yo-yo zipped past him, and crushing into a wide tree behind him, leaving a massive dent and even breaking a chunk of its side.

The wolfish man's eyes gawked,_ How much does that thing weigh?!_

A human head would have obliterated if they embraced that directly. The yo-yo was pulled back by the wire and Garou ducked, returning to Killua's grasp.

The boy in white shirt held up the weaponized toy with a blatant look as the light returned to his eyes in an almost mischievous glint. _Still want to fight us?_ His dark blue gaze asked.

_These kids... _Garou acknowledged, feeling the numbness in his hand as blood drips from his cheek. These kids weren't weak in the slightest. No ordinary children at all.

"We aren't looking for a fight," Gon declared. Killua stood beside him, his demeanor relaxed as he puts both hands in his pocket. "We were just passing by. We weren't going to ambush you or anything."

The wolfish man seems to mind them no attention, wiping away the blood with his palm.

"I hate being stared at," Garou responded in a low voice.

"Look, old guy," Killua nonchalantly said. He knew that this was actually a young man, probably in his late teens, but he felt no obligation to treat him politely. "It's better for all of us, and for you, if we just walk away. We're not just ordinary kids, you know."

Yes. He understands that now. These runts are actually much tougher than they look.

He can't go easy on them.

Garou closed his eyes, a deep intake of his breath through the nose as he lowered his hand. The cut on his cheek closed from his press, blood staining his scuffed hand.

When it comes to facing opponents, to fight against those he seeks to challenge, whether those fighters - especially heroes, are men, women, elderly, or children, they were all equal on the field.

Evil has no bias.

He lunged for them, an arm extended for the boys. Gon and Killua jumped back. They had the advantage of greater agility for their small bodies, but the young man was not so slow that he couldn't keep up. He reached out for Gon until Killua came to his side, another yo-yo thrown.

Garou dropped to his side to dodge, both hands grasping the ground and digging his fingers deep into the dirt that cracked under his grip. He threw his foot up, and using the base of his toes, kicked the yo-yo into the air. Killua was stunned. That yo-yo weighed several tons! This man, he really _is_ strong!

Holding the ground, Garou turned his body and swung another kick for Killua. Killua braced himself, putting "_aura"_ into his arms and blocked. A powerful impact, but no severe harm received, however, it was a powerful enough kick that Killua was pushed back for several feet.

Gon leaped for the man and tossed another punch. Garou released one hand from the ground and caught Gon's fist. An enduring attack, but not enough to move Garou as he gripped the ground tightly with his other hand. He flipped the boy with a single spin of the fist he grabbed, righting himself until his feet dropped back to the ground. Gon clenched his teeth.

Releasing his other hand from the ground, Garou threw an open-palm punch straight to the boy's body. Gon's form was pushed and thrown back by several feet, over a dozen, and disappeared from view.

Emma gasped as she lost her sight of Gon in an instant. She hurried to scatter in search for the young hunter but then Killua returned, and she stopped herself to watch him boldly closes in towards the older teen.

_I have to help!_

Scrambling for her rifle - fully repaired in thanks to the ogre's kindness and their weapon-smith, she moved her position from the bushes to behind a tree, a better view of Garou as he faced the approaching Killua. As she held the rifle in her hands, there was a faint tremble to her fingers at the idea of shooting at what appears to be human. But she could distract him if anything.

She paused however at a confusing sight. Killua was walking towards the wolfish man in a strangely calm pace. His form looked hazy, and then, what can be described as some kind of apparition, a double appeared matching Killua's whole appearance. There were suddenly three of them, then five, then several more.

**Rhythm Echo.**

_Wha-?!_ Emma was baffled at what she is seeing. All of a sudden, there was more than one Killua walking towards the man who was expressing the same feeling of surprise. An illusion? An ability to create doubles?

One Killua dashed for him and Garou immediately struck it, but it vanished at his touch. Several "clones" surrounds him, eyeing him like they were the hunters circling their prey. The irony was not lost on Garou.

Garou bent his knees and crossed his wrists, an even breath of concentration. All at once, the Killuas rushed for him. A quick intake of the air, Garou shot his arms forth all around him, striking each and every clone in mere seconds, until only one remained.

"What?!" Killua yelled in disbelief as a hand shot for his shirt. The boy attempted to stab with his dagger-nails, but Garou quickly snatched his sharp fingers into a tight close, he pulled him in just before Killua shot forward his other hand that clutched his yo-yo. A knee collided to the side Killua's ribs, chucking him to the ground.

"Guh!" Killua groaned through his teeth, locked down by the brace of Garou's hand against his face and a knee to his side, his arm pulled and twisted, sharp pain to his shoulder as the yo-yo held uselessly in his grasp.

"Go ahead," Garou said to him. "I dare you to move and break your arm-"

A pop. Dislocation from the joint between Killua's arm and shoulder as the boy smoothly spun out of the hold while his arm was still gripped and faced the man. Emma gaped as Garou watched benumbed.

"Oh." That works too, Garou supposes.

A kick to this torso, pushing Garou back and slipping his hold of Killia. Killua instantly set his arm back in place with a single shrug, his hands came close together, the palms emitting blue sparks as he sprinted for the man.

**"Lightning Palm!"**

A flash of light, a barrage of relentless statics tackled Garou's entire body and spiking his already spiked hair further, pale hand pressed against his stomach by Killua as his white hair frazzled with electricity. Emma watched afar, confused, at this strange sensation like she was near electricity. What was going on?

**Lightning Palm**. One of the few attacks Killua has developed through the power of his **Nen** \- an ability that uses one's aura to perform certain effects and actions based on the user's own talents, preference, and even mindset. Raised since birth to endure torture and pain, Killua was an assassin bred and by blood. To deal with the severe pain, even suffered electrocution when he was a baby, he was trained to experience it as nothing more than a mild annoyance.

The same cannot be said for those he targets this ability with, and all who embraced this power would be stunned in place for several minutes if the pain alone will not knock them unconscious. Or likely die since this man was not a Nen user, and so was even more susceptible to his ability.

A brief moment of frantic electricity spiraling all over their bodies, Killua was grabbed and lifted by the arm, his attack ceased immediately.

Smoke spilling into the air from the body of the wolfish man, a blank expression that hauntingly stared into the disbelieving eyes of the boy.

"Was that supposed to do something?" Garou hadn't even so much as flinched.

_I-it didn't work? He's resistant to electrocution?! You gotta be kidding me! _Killua shouted in his mind. What _was_ this man made out of? His pain tolerance was on par if not better than Killua's. Damn it! This means his other electric-based attacks won't be of any use!

**"Paper!"**

Garou snapped his head towards the shout, his instincts warning him of an incoming attack. He let's go of Killua and both separated far from each other. A force powerful enough to shake the trees and destroy bushes in one blow, invisible in the eyes of Emma and Garou. But for Killua, he watched what was a large orange blast of a spiked sphere pass through the distance between him and Garou, and destroyed a massive chunk of the trees.

Gon reappeared, wiping the side of his mouth with his green shirt ruffled from the body blow, his unwavering glare towards their foe, glowing fiercely.

Garou slowly blinked at the boy, the unseen projectile lingering to the side of his bemused mind as he was even more bemused at the boy in green that stood several feet away. _He came back like my punch was nothing._

Had he been too soft? No, his attack would have a normal adult stay down. It was like he only hit the armor and never the body.

_Hell, this other kid is just as tough._ He thought of Killua._ I'm pretty sure he just try to electrocute me with his hand. T__hese two are seriously no joke._

Emma smiled widely at seeing Gon's unharmed state._ He's alright! I'm so glad._ It didn't fully occur to her the strangeness of Gon seeming to be uninjured, as she was overjoyed for it. Perhaps the man merely pushed him away?

"KILLUA!"

A flinch at Gon's sudden, loud scream, his eyes meeting Killua's, a determined pair of ambers conveying a hidden message to the dark cool blue of his friend's. His obvious thought was read, and Killua nodded.

_Got it. I'll handle this._

Killua let the yo-yo drop, stopping by his ankles. A bare movement with his finger, it the heavy object gently swayed side to side by the steel wire. Garou watched him carefully but remained attentive to the other boy who shortly approached.

Bending his knees, Gon spreads his feet by a foot and a half, his closed fist pressed into his open palm hand. He hid it behind his side, staring down his opponent.

The hair behind Emma's and Garou's neck stood up, a tickling disturbance._ Something's coming._

Although there was nothing to assume so. The intuition of Emma and the instinct of Garou told them otherwise. They could not see it, but they could feel it, enough for Garou to be on the immediate defensive, his arms slowly parting from his side with a slight bend to his knees, he looked at Killua, then back at Gon.

A sharp zip whizzed the air, and his yellow chrome eyes instantly moved for the boy in white. Killua dashed to the side and threw his several ton yo-yo at him.

A distraction? That won't work.

Rather than dodge like he did two times before, Garou faced the small heavy-weighted weapon, at its closing proximity that would destroy a normal man's organs, he grabbed the yo-yo, his brief close contact of feeling the weight of the toy confound him, but he withstood with his feet grounded that pushed into the dirt.

He rolled the yo-yo with a push of his fingers and changed its course, tossing it far from him and throwing it for Gon's way.

Horror enveloped Emma's eyes as Killua shouted in dismay, "Gon!"

Gon ducked, the yo-yo zipped through his hair, leaving his spiky strands in a split and a frowning grimace. "That was dirty!"

"Why don't you go cry about it to your mommy?" Garou grasped the steely string of the yo-yo and pulled it, dragging it back for Killua and chasing him with his own weapon.

"I don't even know who my birth mother is!"

...Okay. Garou didn't exactly expect a response like that, not one that would be shouted so proudly as if it would deflate the weight of his taunt. He kind of felt bad, but evil has no time to pity the-

A crushing impact to his ankle, Garou reeled himself in shock. Bone shattered as he tries to keep his right foot aligned. He looked down, a yo-yo bluntly struck him, the yo-yo he thought he had a hold of.

_A second one?!_

"Whoops. Guess I should have told you," a mocking grin from Killua as he easily evaded his own weapon flying by his head, "I carry two yo-yos."

It was a gamble in itself to try and deceive the acute man. Killua thought of aiming for his head, but it was likely that it would have been sensed. So he went for the place that it would be least suspected to receive damage, a place where he wouldn't necessarily die if hit hard enough, but a bad place that would hinder his mobility.

Surprised by the attack, Garou loses his grip of the steel and Killua pulled it back with his ring and retrieving the second yo-yo, its string scraping the tree it rounded from. He dashed for the wolfish man, both yo-yos in hand, flinging and spiraling them all over his body before throwing both at the man.

Teeth clenching behind his closed mouth, Garou attempts to recuperate with the now painful injury in his ankle. A determined look, he puts up both hands and struck the yo-yos, smacking them with the forefront of his hands and changing the trajectory. It was somewhat different to change the direction of spiraling yo-yos of several tons than it would be to block a spiraling bat constructed out of purely unbreakable material, worse yet his injured ankle. Garou knew that a moment of lax concentration and more of his bones will break.

It was impressive that for a man who seems to not know any ability like Nen, he was able to keep up with Killua's fast series of attacks with just his bare physical reactions. _This guy is seriously good. A martial artist with more experience than either me or Gon._

Luckily, Killua's deceptive, strategic creativity more than makes up for their difference in experience. He shot his yo-yo for Garou's ankle once more. Garou instantly moved to block and struck aside the second yo-yo, letting it zip over his shoulder.

It was then that he realized too late, he had been tricked.

A pale finger pulling the steel-string, the yo-yo smacked Garou's back, the weight like a loaded truck had hit him. Killua retrieved both his weapons and threw his second yo-yo once more, holding the string down and striking the second yo-yo into knocking it over the thickest branch from the tall tree they stood beside. As the second yo-yo circled around the branch, Killua leaped forward with surprising quickness, and kicked for Garou's jaw. Garou had brought up his hand however, yet even then, the pain in Garou's ankle bothersome enough that he couldn't properly move to regain his footing as he blocked a far greater powerful strike than it was before. Suddenly he felt a tight clutch around his knee.

Releasing the ring of his second yo-yo, Killua slid underneath Garou between the feet while the man was taken aback by the kick that was imbued with Nen, doubling the power of his attack that Garou did not expect. Through the thin opening he carved in his ring, the assassin boy latched it into the steel string as the second yo-yo fell, the surface of the branch pierced by the tightening grip it was surrounded in.

Garou was yanked by the knee, his view of the world flipped over, and he hanged upside as he heard the heavy yo-yo crushed through the ground. Shaking his head and breaking out of his daze, he looked at his surroundings that oddly enough did not seem right, and only fully comprehended his position when he looked at the sky, only finding the grassed dirt.

**"First comes rock..."**

Uh oh. Garou looked to the side. Gon stood there, having quietly closed the distance while Garou was distracted with Killua. He saw the other boy moving behind Gon, resting his shoulder against the tree, a cheeky smile of his own as he waved at him. "Bye-bye."

**"Jan!"**

Oh crap. Oh crap! Oh crap oh crap!

**"Ken!"**

Garou threw his hand for the string that had him suspending in the air and sliced with the side of his fingers. A tough material, but he did it. His senses shouting at him of the incoming attack, there was no escape.

He braced himself.

**"GUUUUUUUUUUU!"**

A punch to the gut. Garou's hand stood in its the way, but the impact could not be blocked. The wind knocked out of him, he flew across, his back burst and break through the trees, until his body reached the fattest one in the woods, and smashed through. The shape of his figure, even the shape of his hair, left in his crashed wake as his body was forcefully stuffed inside the large tree.

Emma had witnessed it all with an open wide mouth of sheer amazement, letting her hold of her rifle limp by her side. Those boys did it. They won, and they won in a way that she did not believe was actually possible. Two children beating an older individual upfront. She was flabbergasted and downright wowed.

"Glad that's over," Killua sighed, grabbing and rolled his shoulder. "If that guy managed to survive that, he won't be getting back up anytime soon."

"Yeah. Good job distracting him, Killua!" Gon thanked the other boy.

"No. It's... Well, it's alright, I guess," Killua shyly responded, shifting his footing. "We both did it, and if the other competitors are anything like him, we might get through this competition easily."

"Yeah! Oh! Emma! It's safe to come out now!"

Snapping out of her stupor, Emma slowly pushes through the bushes. "A-Are you guys..."

_T__hat was incredible. How did you fight like that? How strong are you guys? You were both amazing!_

"Are you guys alright?" She first had to ask that before she would give them her endless bucket of question and wonder, for now, she was still in shock.

"Yeah. He didn't hurt us too badly. Well, not that he _could_ hurt us anyway," Killua vaguely stated.

The aura he and Gon surrounded himself in - **_Ken_** \- was enough of a body armor that no normal fist could pierce through, not unless their opponents were Nen users as well, and even then, it would still be difficult to break bones when using a Nen attack like **_Ko_** to block powerful Nen strikes. Killua could tell that the fists of that man were not to be taken lightly, but nothing that he could call it a problem. He began to wonder why he or Gon panicked when they were first noticed by that guy. It may have just been a fluke.

"Okay..." Emma said quietly, though she wished she could share their enthusiasm, it wasn't something to celebrate the death of a competitor. It was disheartening that it had to come to it anyhow, and worrying that neither Gon nor Killua felt bothered by what they had to do. She was glad that they were safe though.

What truly bothered her was if that man really was a monster. If he was a shapeshifter like what she saw before, why did he not transform? Did he think he would not need to? Or... had he not been a monster after all?

The thought that a human being had been killed made her quickly feel sick with guilt.

"So. Ready to keep going?"

Emma blinked at Killua's question.

"Oh. Right!" She will not hold it against them, they were just defending themselves. She hopes, though, that they won't be pushed to this choice again. "But... How did you guys-?"

The air suddenly felt very heavy. Emma, Gon, and Killua were startled at the sudden weight. A chill instantly traveled down their spines.

"What?" Killua said, turning his head towards a certain direction. "No way... There's no way..."

Emma felt herself trembling. Not a shake of her surroundings, but that her body was reacting. What was happening?

A crushing sound of wood takes her attention, following the gazes of Gon and Killua. A sharp ounce of terror shot through her.

"You can't be serious..." Killua frowned as Gon watched baffled. "Just how tough-"

A wind of violence attacked their senses, the children froze, their voice barely cracked as this awful feeling clouded their inside.

From the figure shaped hole inside the largest tree, a busted hand reached out, gripping the edge.

Emma rushed back to hiding as Gon and Killua remained out in the open, she remained watchful around the tree as she tries to understand what was happening. This tension in the air, it was unlike anything she has ever felt. Gon and Killua kept their eyes on what they thought was their defeated opponent lay beaten. Their opponent, not only had he survived, he was moving.

Another hand gripped the other edge, his body pulling himself out with crunches of wood. Battered, blood dripping from his mouth, a noticeable deep round mark on his stomach. He did not make any vocal noise, no pained grunts or show of biting down in between his bloodied teeth, nor a breath or a growl. He silently, and steadily, rises out from his body-shaped hole within the tree, one foot stepped onto the grass, the other foot stuck within the trunk.

He looked at his trapped ankle, broken as it was, and forced it through the wood, breaking through and leaving shattered barks, setting himself free. He looked at his damaged hand, black with a burnt mark and broken bones, slowly clenching his fingers with forceful success.

The forest around them was quiet, but a beating noise banged against the inside of Emma's ears. It was enough to deceive Emma for a moment, enough for her to think for a second, that she was hearing the loud, furious pulsing heart of this man, when really, it was her own terrified heart that was pounding against her whole being.

"...Alright," Garou uttered through his blood dripping mouth. He slowly raises his head for the boys, eyes wide and without a shine of mercy, "Play time's over..."

A massive, dark, wild air erupted all around him. A surge like huge black spikes, invisible to the eye, but not to their frightened instincts that sirened inside the children's heads. A cruel presence that grasped the boys' movements, and they were stiffed in place.

_This feeling..._ Killua thought to himself, feeling the faint tremble to his entirety.

There were few examples that came to mind in recollection to a feeling like this. The first was his older brother, his obsessed brother, the horrible chain that sibling had around Killua's heart and mind. Killua had broken himself free from his older brother's spell, having ripped the needle of controlled fear and cowardly self-preservation right out of his brain, but it was not enough to forget the memory.

The feeling that they were facing an opponent stronger than they can imagine.

The second time was the same reason Gon has. Gon's instincts were shouting, the alarm bells ringing to a deafening degree.

It resurfaced an agonizing memory of when he had met _that creature_. That moment when he realized his weakness. To be reminded of it, the worst moment of his life, his fists clenched with a small ball of fury in him as he dared to challenge the fear this man is bringing forth.

Emma had the worst reaction. It was not something of an old memory like these boys had, but that she had_ never_ felt this way before. Not even when she first found Connie's body, not even when she realized her mother's true persona, not even when she had to fight for her life, not even when she faced against Lewis. This was something far greater, it left her completely immobile behind the tree and bushes. Kneeling so close to the ground she wanted to bury herself under it.

_I'm scared. We shouldn't be here. We have to go. We have to get out of here!_

She could not move. She was frozen with absolute **fear**.

"It's my turn now," Garou's arms limped to his front, an ooze of his blood falling to the ground. He no longer had the posture of a man, more of an inhuman prowler as his eyes of dark gilded metallic marked his targets. A wolf, in every sense. "Get ready. I ain't going easy on you kids anymore."

He jumped. His entire being gone within the endless leaves of the trees.

Gon and Killua leaped away to their separate position, their eyes shooting for their entire surroundings. Not a sound, no movements._ Where? Where is he?_

Hugging her quaking self, Emma looked at the boys and poked her head around her hiding spot. She hears nothing, she sees nothing.

They waited, several_ slow_ seconds went by. The children remained attentive, they kept their eyes to the area. Waiting, watching. As the sweat of unease built up. They could perhaps use **En**, to find and detect where the wolfish competitor is positioned, but their En was not perfected as of yet, hardly enough to reach these tall trees-

A rip from the earth bellowed behind Gon and Killua and they spun around. Emma's jaw dropped as she looked widely.

Large roots tearing off with a single easy pull, a massive tree, ten feet wide and fourteen feet tall, was uprooted from the ground and lifted over the shoulder of a monstrous humanoid with eyes white with animosity. His fingers pierced into the barks, he carried it over his head.

And swung the entire thing down.

A shout to flee by Killua, the children sprinted away as the tree and the ground broke upon contact, cracks emerging from the earth as the tree itself broke in half.

_He pulled out an entire tree_, a startling feat as Killua leaped back. _Just how strong is this guy-?!_

A shuffling noise to his right, he looked and found Garou. Face close and the fierce intent in his eyes obvious. Killua was in disbelief that this man got so close, and could not even be given the chance to curse himself for getting distracted.

In Garou's mind and understanding, the first rule when fighting against more than one enemy, when it was obvious that teamwork is the key to their success, and only a sole opponent stands against the unfair odds, then a method is in order to overcome said odds. There was the heavy hitter, the distant attacker, the protective shield, and the diligent supporter. So, when it comes to every enemy with a role to their name that keeps their team from failing their object to defeat the sole opponent, who among them grants them the biggest contribution, as well their crippling weakness if this member is missed?

Easy. The support. Erase the support, and the rest will fall like flies without their man behind the scene to catch them.

A solid, unrestrained punch to Killua's ribs, the boy blocked with both arms. Before he was sent to fly, however, Garou grabbed him by the dark blue sleeve with a dark and hardened expression, and threw him aside with a tremendous kick that struck Killua's torso, and had the boy's body bounce and bounce across the terrain.

"Killua!" Gon ran for his friend but was blocked by Garou's dropped form who looked his way. Gon, out of instinct, reared his hand and clutched knuckles to his side. "**Ja**-"

Garou was in front of him, his body lowered to meet the startled boy at an eye-level. The one thing Garou noticed, it took this boy time to charge up his attack before he could throttle anybody, so the answer to how he can deal with this one is simple.

Hit him before he does.

A single palm-punch right into the face. Gon bounced across the ground as well, a pain numbness to his head and nose as he failed to completely keep up with his **Ken**, feeling the nose in his nose and he grimaced.

The sound of a yo-yo coming for Garou from behind, he moved his head and watched the yo-yo shoot by. He grabbed the wire and turned with a pull, there was no weight at the other end however, and he looked below.

Killua ran up to him with his dagger fingernails unsheathed and thrust for the liver area. But a simple kick slapped the attempted attack away, and Garou grabbed Killua's head, push it against the ground in a slam and the brute force of it was felt through Killua's Ken as he muffled out.

From afar, Emma watched, mortified. In her perspective, what could only be understood in her mind, the boys were in trouble. They needed help!

She grabbed her rifle and aimed at the man. Killua struggled under Garou's grasp until Gon's hasty return, who threw himself at Garou with a powerful kick, but Garou moved casually and swift, grabbing Gon's leg into a pull, and slammed against the ground on his back with just a pull.

Emma helplessly watched as her expression trembled while her hold of the rifle remained steady. She could not pull the trigger while those boys were so close within range, less so that the person they were fighting had a human face.

Though surely, he was a monster in disguised, if the tracker had anything to tell her, and from what she had experienced in the beginning night of this Preliminary. He has to be with such cruel-inflicted attacks. Either way, while she has confident marksmanship, she can't risk hitting those boys. But she has to do something.

_I need to take his attention_.

If it means that her friends will be spared, and they can either lay in a good hit or escape, then she has to do it. She has to make it count, however, make sure it won't lead her to suddenly be pounded by the man.

He had already proven to know her location, but as of now, she might have just been a mild concern or likely thought she couldn't fight because she has yet to actually do something. So he's putting some of his attention away from her and focusing his vicious attacks towards Gon and Killua. What can she do to take his complete attention?

From the hectic fight that shook the ground, in the corner of her eye, she spotted the fishing rod bouncing beside Gon's backpack, the patch with its stars that glittered under the daylight.

She knew what to do.

With Gon and Killua, they were in a bind, fighting wise. No matter their synchronized attacks, no matter their tactics and matched rhythm that exchanged plan after plan, their opponent was more than a tricky one, he was a fierce fighter. Not only that, he was an intelligent fighter. He'd already begun to accustomed himself with their way of fighting and even started to predict their movements.

_Damn._

Killua winced at a leg-kick to his head.

_Damn!_

Gon slammed face-front against the ground, hard, yet otherwise determined to keep fighting.

_Damnit! How can we beat this guy?!_

Killua tried launching his other electric-based attacks but they were shrugged off by the man, in fact, Killua believes that the man was even more immune to the attack than before.

No human could withstand the amount of voltage in their system and still be able to keep fighting. He understood then the meaning of Emma's previous urgency at the call of a monster, this man, he certainly could not be a mere human.

Their only form of leaving an effective hit was if they used **Ko** and hope to land a hit, but Garou, either from pure instincts or what his experience tells him after surviving Gon's Jajaken, he knew better than to let them actually hit him again.

It did not matter if their **Ken** was protecting them from Garou's heavy attacks, they could go on like this forever and if they do, Gon and Killua will eventually exhaust themselves, and so will their Nen. If the man lasts that long, then their exhaustion will be the moment when he'll be able to land a devastating attack they can't get back up from.

Gon and Killua distanced themselves, gasping as they tried to keep their Nen under control, the aura wavering all over their bodies.

Garou regarded the boys with a deep scowl. He's been unleashing hit after hit, each hit harder and more brutal than the last, but not so much as a mark was left on either boy. There was definitely some kind of invisible armor protecting them, and judging by their lack of confidence, it was not an armor that lasts forever.

Which means if he pushes them some more, unleashing endless attacks even if it takes him all day, then he might be able to hurt them.

Since he had plenty of stars on himself, Garou has no reason to hurry up and end the fight. He has all the time in the world and would still be able to move on to the next round, the official first round.

He can't say the same for these boys, but they might as well take this as an exercising lesson. They can't expect everything to go easily without a difficult obstacle in their way, and Garou would be more than glad to be that obstacle if it means he can ignite his vengeful retaliation.

He admits though, that he might not have the energy to last him the whole day if he keeps fighting like this, having braced a powerful attack that is still affecting him right now and spending his energy just to keep standing, out of sheer stubbornness that he would refuse to let himself be beaten by a pair of kids.

He'll bear with it. He'll bear it with his jaw tightened and his body pushed to the brink of collapse if it means he can land a decent hit.

He has no knowledge if it really takes time for their armor to dwindle, or if he needs to bring forth a powerful attack that would break through their invisible armor. So in order for him to test it, he might as well have to use _that_.

"Killua."

A side-glance from Killua to Gon who called his name in a low voice.

"I need you to distract him," Gon tightens his closed fist. "I know that we can't fight him for that long. I'm... gonna give my all."

Killua's eyes widened, he looked back at the awaiting Garou who was observing them silently. "...Okay. I'll keep him busy." He walked forward but stopped suddenly, "...Gon. Don't worry about me. I'll get him close. You do what you have to do."

Gon looked at Killua's back in surprise, a hesitant stare that led him to reconsider his plan, but seeing the bold, broadened shoulders of his friend, he strongly nodded. "Right!"

Garou's eyes narrowed, and then realization. "Hey, are you..."

Killua stood in front of Gon, his sharp hands at each his side with determination shining in his eyes. Behind him, Gon was in position, his knuckles against his palm, power building up.

"You better not be that stupid," Garou talked to shake their spirits. "You don't want to hit your friend by accident. I can tell that'll leave a real mess."

Neither one of them faltered, Killua slowly approached.

"...Well aren't you a good pair of friends." Must be nice.

It was obvious that there was no other option, Garou has to use it. If they are serious, then once they unleash their attack, he'll bring it right back to them and make them regret it.

He allowed the tension to leave his body, raised his arms and flowed up then down, a graceful curve drawn in the air with his hands, like flowing water in a calm river stream.

Killua readied himself. Gon began powering up, his eyes closed, a deep sigh through the nose.

_Focus. Imagine it. Imagine this guy as someone you want to beat. Imagine him... as _them_._

White wavy hair. Crimson-gold eyes empty of humanity and only desire. The face of a predator spotting meager preys as a sadistic cat to a pair of mice. The fear he felt from that creature. The anger he felt against that creature. The hatred he has buried deep in his heart, waiting for it to erupt once he meets that monster again.

The one who took an important person from him.

Garou sensed a change and nearly lost his focus. An impending doom. When he saw Gon open his eyes, he sees those pairs of amber darkened, a sole purpose of defeating his opponent... To destroy him. To utterly obliterate him with such a cool intent in his dark glare.

_There's no mistake. This kid wants to kill me._

He doesn't know what set the boy off, but he can certainly dare him to try. Garou prepared himself, arms raised and his hands drooped. A fleeting, nagging memory of an old man, master of the arts of the fist, righting the posture of a young boy with a mission in his mind. A proud smile the further wrinkled his aged face, the undeniable, no matter how much it was fought, recuperation that was felt with that sightful, gleaming pride.

He lets the old memory go, and sets his fierce gaze towards them.

**"Fist of the Flowing Water..."**

Killua sprinted for him, Garou shot forward a hand, and Gon waited for his moment.

A single gunshot rang across the air.

Every person recoiled at the sudden loud noise, a bullet had reached them, specifically close to Garou. He raised his hand at it, an inhumanly fast reaction that would catch the bullet. He realized, however, that the bullet was hurtling passed beside his shoulder. A faulty aiming? Or was it never intended to hit.

At this split second close examination, it was a bullet of a strange texture, thicker than normal, its closing reach that Garou's hand hovered near it, several little bits of its lids flipped open.

His eyes widened. _Oh shi-! It's not a bullet. It's a-!_

A thick green gas poured out through the tiny openings, a sudden hot spiciness in Garou's vision while Killua and Gon, though they were at a distance, was protected by their Ken, and stared confused at the sudden appearance of the dark green gas that quickly overcame the entire area.

"Gon! Killua! RUN NOW!"

They heard Emma's call. Killua looked for her but he could not find her, a second spared at the tear gas that surrounded Garou. A quick regard of Gon. He instantly understood.

Without a word, Killua turned around and grabbed Gon by the waist. "H-Hey!" Without stopping, he rushed for the trees just as he avoided a sharp, swift attack that chopped a considerable piece from the tree by Garou's hand.

Gon shouted at his friend, "Killua! Wait! I can still fight him!"

Killua knows. He knows very well. He knows that it really wasn't that long, nor was it short, that they would exhaust themselves and be at this man's merciless nature. He had good hopes that despite Garou's fierce and skillful attacks, Garou was an injured man who was just clinging onto consciousness and that together with Gon, they had a chance to utterly beat this man indefinitely the second time. Killua knew.

But he also didn't want Gon to throw himself away like this. Not his life, but everything that Killua had admired him for so long.

Sprinting into the tear gas with Gon over his shoulder, Killua's and Gon's forms were hidden completely, Garou, however, pinpoints them, and gives chase. He won't let his opponents flee.

_Was that shout just now the third guy that was hiding? _He thought it was weird how the third person remained out of sight, but then reasoned that the guy must have been a scout of some kind, a mere observer, though he wasn't completely sure. Now, he was most definitely sure, just now he quickly understood, the hidden person wasn't a scout, but a ranger, a distant attacker. The support from afar.

This must be a diversion. Throw off his game while he is attacked in this fog that's making him faintly teary-eyed. Too bad for that shooter, as this gas was not even enough to make him sneeze.

He lost sight of the boys, acting quickly, he rushed for the tree and surveyed from the branch. The area was completely clouded, he could make out through the thick fog. Suddenly, a movement, a body in white and a wearer of green over the shoulder.

"Found you!" A bloody smile, bending his knees, he leaped after his fleeing opponents. "I'm not letting you get away-!"

A hook shot for his hip, a sudden thing that appeared and he was not prepared for as his attention was on his opponents. The hook reached his pocket and it snapped back.

Garou sliced the fishing line with his fingers. The hook was severed free, but the prize was captured, and at Garou's reactive cut as if he took it as an attack, the hook with the object it grasped flung high in the air and fell shortly after.

A child-sized hand reached up. Caught between her fingers, the severed-free hook, and with it, the patch that carried six golden stars. Emma, standing far away on a branch of the tallest tree, looked below at the hunter of white-silverish hair, his landing back into the green fog, and mind for his escaped opponents leaving him.

Emma stared down at him with a faint, heaving breath. Her exertion to barely achieving her goal, holding her brave gaze as Garou, not sure if he really was seeing her through his faintly watery vision, slowly regarded the girl of messy orange hair, his hand steadily reaching the side of his pants.

Nothing was felt. He looked for an assured inspection, sinking his entire hand into his pocket, and coming up with only lint that fell pathetically upon the grass. His expression was blank, a sort of question to his wake, and he looked back up at her.

Oh. You. Did. _Not_.

He eyed at her with a intense, displeased look. Emma held her gaze strongly, nullifying the fear in her heart instantly, and hurried out of sight as the tear gas completely obscured his vision of her. But it did not matter.

The hunt was on.

/.\

"Killua! Stop! I wanted to fight him!"

"Yeah? Did you forget that we're in the middle of the forest with several monsters living around here? All that noise would have definitely gotten someone's attention nearby, and if a horde of monsters came our way we would have been overwhelmed."

"O-oh. Right. I guess it would have been bad if we fought any longer. AH! Hold on! We forgot about Emma!"

"It's fine. Pretty sure that gas just now must have been her. She's a lot more resourceful than I took her for. She gave us the chance to escape, so let's hope she got away too."

"But... just now, while we were running away, I think I saw her use my fishing rod. I didn't see what happened but I think she got something from that guy," Gon recalled his brief witnessing. "It kind of glimmered like... stars..."

Killua's feet slid to a halt, "...Stars?"

Setting Gon back down, they looked at each other, and then to the path they had run out from. "...You don't think she..."

Disrupting Killua, the ground quietly rumbled, derailing his and Gon's train of thought.

"Uh oh. That doesn't sound good," Gon dropped down, pressing his left ear against the dirt. Several heavy steps he can feel from afar, a scuffle through the wilderness. "A stampede? No... It's something more."

"Then we better get moving," Killua insists, starting for one direction already.

"No wait! We have to go back for Emma!" Gon fiercely objects. "She tried to help us! We can't just leave her behind!"

A moment of pondering, and looking at the unhesitant eyes of the hunter whose mind was already made, Killua knew there was no use of rebuking once the decision of Gon Freecs was set, and he had no choice but to relent.

"Alright, let's hurry back. If she really did what you think she did... she might just be an even bigger idiot than you are."

Gon pouted in offense as he quickly followed after Killua, taking to the trees while the disturbance came closer.

/.\

She dashed across the branches that made pathways through to forest, leaping over a gap that stretched five feet, the way down much more than that. She was unfettered, however, as she landed perfectly on the other side, and quickly resumed without pause.

She cannot say if she is being followed, but she has no reason to believe that he _wouldn't _follow her while she has what should be an importance if his participation in this event is any indication. He must have worked hard to earn this many stars with the number of days they still have left, surely, he cannot let his efforts go to waste. It was undoubted, he will not lose what he has fought to gather.

_It's fine._ Emma told herself. _Gon and Killua are safe. I'll lead that man away and find them later._

She reached a tree that was curved to the ground and hopped over it, running across and reaching the lower level with a skip, gripping at the bark for a gentler landing, a slight swing forward, her feet back upon the ground and she kept running.

_Just a little farther. I'll throw this patch aside and-_

She rushed passed a tree, and Garou appeared from the other side. Instant horror and disbelief in her widened eyes that looked up to his.

"Sup." He casually greeted, and swung his leg for her feet.

It was a kick that Emma would find impossible to evade as soon as she saw it coming, however, she had dropped into ditch just in the nick of time, the kick only grazing the antenna lock of her hair. Without a beat lost, she rushes through the opening while the enclosed trees crowded around her, her small build able to slip through the narrow path as she hears her pursuer behind searching for her.

Consecutive stabbings entered the earth, the fingers of the hunter behind her jabbed to reach her through the roots, but misses her as she ran through the covered ditch that he could barely see through, with just the color of her hair his only beacon until the roots completely covered her.

At his lost sight of her, he swiftly jabbed his entire head through the roots, easily done and hardly any pain from it as if he was simply made out of concrete. He spotted with intense eyes the back of the running little girl through the tunnel, and lifted his head back just as swiftly.

There was a wall of nothing but enlarged roots ahead of Emma, two massive trees that were crossed with each other overhead. She moved through the tunnel and hastily crawled through the seven feet clutter of branches and coned wood, reaching the other side and dashing to her right at an open path revealed to her, now out from the underground and into another cluttered forest domain her small figure can easily move and maneuver through.

She heard the terrible breaking of the massive trees behind her, bulldozed by the entire form of her hunter, bracing the battered hit of fallen branches that did not hurt him in the slightest. Garou craned his head towards her fleeing smaller form. The gravity of despair weighing down her heart when she dared to look back.

She sprinted with all her might then, moving through the cluttered terrain of the forest as Garou gives chase, a hand shot for her head or limb, each time she barely managed to avoid it, all due to her acrobatic talent and willingness to take a short plummet as she moved through gaps big enough for her to rush through while small enough for others with a taller build to not follow as easily, the forest itself with its naturally grown blockade that slowed impede Garou, but not enough to stop him. Without it though, she would have been caught already.

Heart racing behind her ribs, her breath was kept at an even tempo, her mind cleared and focused even as he hears the destruction of the natural blockade being broken and torn apart by the wolfish man clawing for her. An absolutely terrifying chase, but she was determined to press on. Never faltering, never allowing herself disrupted, or she will be captured.

It was no different from when she and her family were fleeing from the demons, only it is with a human appearance that made this all the more disturbing, but she can outsmart him, she can stay ahead. She's done it before, she will do it again! But whatever she does, she must not stop running!

The outreach of his hand suddenly snatched back, and an immediate silence from behind. Confused by the quiet, Emma glanced back. She does not see her pursuer, nor hear his grip rip apart the boundaries that kept herself and him separated. He couldn't have given up, not without getting back his stars. So where did he go?

Emma looked up ahead, and distraught marred her face. She sees the white-silverish haired man, hunched against the side of the tree on four of his limbs, wild eyes and worn bloody chin, knees bent to lunge for her. He simply looked no longer human.

Emma kicked off the ground and sprinted to the side. Seeing this, Garou leaped for the other tree, and she dashed for another path, then the next, and the next, again and again. He leaped for every tree that Emma was running passed or for, forcing the girl to change direction repeatedly to avoid him. He jumped wood after wood, circling Emma like a four-legged beast trapping his prey.

Emma is utterly appalled at the man's physical lunging that traverse from tree to tree, no human could achieve such a feat. She has to stay calm. Keep her breath even and keep running, find a way to escape-!

In her haste, her foot hit against a hidden root from the small piles of pebbles and she tripped. Falling forward with a yelp and tumbled shortly, her teeth shut together, but nothing broken. Bearing the mild hurt, she hurriedly pushes herself up, her head moving for all directions for the leaping man. A small heaving breath from all the running, an intense panic as she cannot find the man, she reaches for her rifle.

Her feet balancing her once more, a creak from wood as she felt a horrible chill crawl up her spine, and she darted forth. She only succeeded a single step. A hand grabbed at the back of her shoulder and pushed her back for the ground. A squawk escaped her, eyes closed when her face met the ground, a numb hit against her cheek. She struggled under the grip until she felt it enclosed around her shoulder, her body stilled in reaction, then yanked up like a captured bunny under the fangs of a beast.

Fingers tightly grabbing the back collar of her sweater, she felt herself be shaken, her small figure jerked up and down by the tug of his grip. The staps of her rifle and bow slips from her carry and falls to the ground.

Dizziness spurred inside her head as she felt her eyes spin, she was then faced by a pair of sharp gold irises gaze. Her feet above the ground and meeting near his height as he held her like a captured animal. Her arms locked up by the back pull of her vest, preventing her reach for the four-barrel pistol in her pocket, if he would even allow her.

"Hey."

She looked to him when he spoke. His eyes declaring.

"That was my patch you took."

She frantically struggled to escape from his grip, running in mid-air as he searched for what was taken from his possession, dipping his fingers into one of the pockets of her sweater vest. "Give it back. I worked hard getting those stars."

Her feet harshly bobbed up and down to have the man's grip of her back sweater relent, but his was unrelenting. Not even a hint of perturbed as if she weighed absolutely nothing to him. She waved her arms in futile, until finally she threw a kick for his jaw when he found her patch of two stars.

Garou reacted quick, putting a hand up to block. The small foot struck against his hand, but it didn't even move it, gripping the toes of her shoes as he bear witness to the sort of strength she held.

It was not much. A blink from his sharp gaze and a blank expression from the girl before she yelled out in shock. Releasing her foot, she complained in muffled pained whimpering for her foot that felt as if it had just kicked a stone wall.

Another blink from Garou as he observed the child. Unlike those boys she was with, she held no strength to compare. He didn't even feel the weight of the impact she obviously tried to impose from her kick with all her might. It was like dealing with a dangling baby.

"Not much of a fighter like those friends of yours, huh?" With the barest of movement, he raised his finger near her stomach and jabbed it. "Ow!", her knees brought up in catering to what was Garou's very mild attack.

A hint of a smirk from Garou before resuming his search for his stolen patch while she desperately tries to stop him with what ever reach her locked arms were capable of, patting and grasping his arms that unbothered the fighter. He held no interest in beating up a child who wouldn't offer him much of a fight. One flick of a semi-serious attack and she would have been done.

"Oh? What's this now?"

Emma held back her gasp when he takes out the Monster Tracker from her second vest pocket. She watches with a near aggravated face as he flipped open the device. "Hoh? A map. That's pretty useful in a big place like this. So those two dots on the screen supposed to be us?"

Emma stopped her incessant and futile struggling, confusion in her eyes. "Two... dots?"

A creaking noise from behind Garou, and at a rising figure, Emma's face paled. The emote in Garou's eyes dropped once he saw a shadow cascade over the girl he held, and he turned around.

**[Monster Identified]** The monster tracker typed out on the screen as Garou and Emma looked up with widened eyes. **[Monster Type: Grimm. Name of Species: King Taijitu****].**

A massive, pitch black-scaly creature surfaced from the massive, fallen tree. A bone mask with red markings at its head, a slither of its tongue slipped out and in. A hiss through its closed jaw that could crush a vehicle in one bite. Its blood-red orbs for eyes stared down, hungrily so, at the humans it sees below.

Another hiss escaped from the monster's side, rounding the fallen tree, a second massive snake with pale white scales, and a darker shade of its bone mask. The duo creatures slithered out, and together, they released a horrible, sizzling roar.

The presence of these monsters was noticed long ago, but because of Emma's attention on Garou, she missed the notification. Together they had unknowingly just entered this monster's territory.

Garou tightened his grip on Emma's vest. The King Taijitu lunged for them. He jumped, stopping at the base of a tree and continuing when the white snake shot for them again. Emma's body flung around at his unrelenting hold as he leaped for every tree, avoiding being bitten by both snakes. The King Taijitu slithered around the area, chasing Garou and the girl he held. More than once did Emma lifted her feet when the King Taijitu's chomped for her, barely missing her shoes even as Garou pulled her away.

She desperately tried for her pistol again, her rifle was on the ground, and her bow she could not reach, so her only weapon left was her four-barrel pistol. If only she can reach it!

"Hey, kid."

She looked back for Garou.

"I'm gonna toss you."

She stared almost incomprehensibly. The moment she understood, he landed at the center in between the King Taijitu and with one shove, he threw Emma far above his head. A scream escaped her as the King Taijitu head rose, and shot to take a bite out her. Sheer horror enveloped her entire being as she watched helplessly for her coming demise, desperately reaching for her remaining weapon at her hip.

"Back off."

At their closing proximity to the girl at each her side, Garou hopped, and a series of swift kicks battered the heads of the two snakes. This beast had no right to chase her, he was the one who caught her first, and plus, she still had his stars to get back. The King Taijitu cried out with a loud, pained sigh as their heads were knocked back harshly.

Garou didn't intend to use the girl as bait, he just couldn't fight back properly with one hand occupied, the other having tossed aside the red and black device. Emma gawked what was demonstrated below, growing farther and farther away from the ground. An item with its glimmering badges slipping out from her possession and sent spiraling across the air, gone from sight.

She watched the man she had been fleeing from dash across the trees, each a single step. A push of one leg at a time. He punched the side of the white snake's head, grabbed a hold of its chin and threw it against the ground with a sickening slam. The black snake darted its head and open jaw for the fighter, but he grasped at the fangs of the beast and pushed himself away. Avoiding a bite, the King Taijiu opened its mouth to try again, Garou stopped his feet against a tree he landed, and with a stomp that broke through the barks into a cater, he leaped for the beast again smashed its left fang into pieces with both of his hands.

The black King Taijitu sheered with agony, its white counterpart feeling its brother's pain, it shot for the fighter that rolled against the ground and dashed to the side.

Emma watched in amazement, the feat of the man whose body moved all around the area like a rabbit, his strength to crush the single fang of the monster with his hands. Her appalling eyes widened at a revelation, granted by her increasing distance from the form, she saw the King Taijitu in its entirety.

"They're connected..." She whispered, then screamed. "They're connected!" A reveal she announced without knowing a reason for it.

Garou had heard her, and then a sudden crack of wood breaking. He turned around, a massive tree descending over his head.

A tremor to the earth, the ground that cracked under the pressure of the tree. Garou landed swiftly upon it, having evaded in time. He looked behind him, the cause connected by black and white, mixing into grey scales. A connection between the ends of the black and white snakes, a proof of the monster's existence living as one - a two-headed single beast.

He jumped when the King Taijitu attempted to trap and strangle him in one crushing blow. Landing upon their connected body, he dashed across the scaly white floor and reached the head, a powerful twist of his open-palm punch that had the creature spit out black blood.

He went farther, stabbing his fingers into the throat and dragged it across. Gunk of black, chunks of meat made out of shadows, spilled all over Garou. Blackening the pale white skin of the yin beast counterpart.

The other half of the King Taijitu went in a rage and shot its head for Garou. He dodged chomp and ran, the monster following him close behind, circling around the white, dying half, slithering over and narrowly catching him until he slid underneath their connected body with an impactful kick that had it rise in reaction.

The beast followed him still, wrapping its long body around the shared organ of the withering white half, unknowingly closing their airway in a slow strangle that further suffered the creature, and its darker half realizing what it has done.

A single gunshot from the sky, Garou halted instantly when he heard it. From a falling bullet and the sudden collapse of its exterior, a string of material sprung out and covered the entire beast. The King Taijitu was startled by the unknown substance, squirming to break free, but only tangling itself further in the process, sealing off all hope of ever escaping itself.

Its state at his complete mercy, one which he will not give, Garou took to the tree, ran up, and jumped overhead the monster.

**Fist of the Flowing Water... Crushing Rock!**

A ferocious, onslaught of brutal hits battered the body of the King Taijitu, though the monster's size was enormous, it felt the attack travel throughout its entire body. It cried in severe agony until Garou retraced his fist, allowing himself to fall, and grabbed the black scaled monster's head.

A grip and twist, the creature sputtered out ounces of black blood, and Garou pierced its pointed hands into its eyes, an attack powerful enough to reach the other eye in one blow, ripping through its brain.

He grabbed and flipped himself over, reached the limping paler half of the King Taijitu, and blew his fist straight onto its head, smashing the bone mask and forcing more blood to cough and spurt out from its wounds. A final killing blow by striking the eye that reached the other one, black matter exploding within its skull, it quickly went limp entirely, as did its darker half.

He landed beside the dead creature, rising with an ache to his stomach, breathing out a slow, heavy sigh with his eyes closed. His neck popped at the crane of his head.

"That'll teach it for messing with me," he said, as if the dead will ever learn. He raises his hand to his side, "Now then..."

Panicked yelling into a louder descent, his clenched fingers caught the back of Emma's vest and stopped the stunned girl from her total drop. He lifted her, a dazed expression facing him, "Time to deal with you."

Black blood splattered half of his face with a revolting smell, his eyes never losing the slightest of his fierce intensity, the ferocity within him at hold, ready to pounce if something aspires him to. She peered into the nightmarish appearance of the man as her arms raised to her front in instinctive need of defense, a loss for words, fearful, amazed.

She flinched at the movement of his other hand, his palm showing with his fingers relaxed. "Give it."

She looked at his hand, her mouth slightly parting as she regarded the man up close, no words came out, or use for any of it. There was no point in withholding it from him. She reached for the pocket in her trousers, dipping her hand inside and rummaged through it.

She rummaged, and searched some more, her thing brows crinkling in confusion, her eyes alarmed. She searched her other pocket, then her vest pockets, everywhere she can seek as Garou waited patiently.

Her arms dropped to her side, a slight sway to her held form. "...I don't have it."

"...Hah?" He held her closer, the reek of his bloody state assaulting her nostrils to a burn. "What's that supposed to mean? I know you had it. I _saw_ you had it."

"I-It's not on me anymore," Emma answered honestly, unveiling her own surprise at this. "It... It must have fallen out when you threw me in the air."

"Oh? So it's_ my_ fault then?" He poked her in the abdomen again, and another yelp escaped her. "Don't try to switch the blame. You were the little thief who thought you can just snatch my stars and run."

He poked her again and again, each poke inducing a small shriek of "ouch!" from the girl. She held her waist in protection, and he was still able to poke her even as she tries to push away his finger with her foot.

"I didn't- ow! I didn- ow! I wasn't going to keep them- ow!"

He stopped his poking then. Emma rubbed her stomach as she looked at him directly, and spoke factually, "I was going to give them back to you. I just wanted you to stop hurting my friends."

"Hurting them? Kid, did you even_ see_? I was_ trying,_ sure, but those kids were tougher than any guy I'd fought."

So... They were actually fine? Nothing so harmed despite the man's brutal beating? She found it almost hard to believe, but looking into his eyes, he didn't seem to be lying or had any reason to. Hearing that those boys were actually, relatively, unharmed brought a sense of relief in Emma.

"What? Did you not know that they were that tough?"

She had them figured as strong, she supposes she should have thought them as durable as well. That's really good then.

"Ow!" The onslaught of pokes returned.

"So how are you gonna make it up to me then, huh? I put my life on the line for some of those badges you know?" Garou prodded every word with a brisk jab to her midsection. He stopped at an idea. A displeased noise from Emma as she held her waist. They weren't terribly pain-inflicted attacks, but they still hurt.

"Hey, how about you give me your stars?"

Her eyes shot up for his and his deviant grinning. "You took mine, I take yours. That's a pretty fair exchange, don't you think?"

He pointed at the pocket that hides her patch, his face mangled with tar, red blood as he stated, "Unless you want to fight me for them?"

Emma's mouth thinned, a question in her eyes that downs to his beaten state, and the dead remains of the King Taijitu. A sullen frown formed, and she lowered her arms.

"Why?"

He blinked, "Hm?"

"Why should we have to fight?" She asked him, forcing her heart to calm.

Whether this man was a human or a monster. This question she imposed all the same. He did not answer her question, seeming befuddled by it.

"I know that we're in a competition, but why should that mean we need to hurt each other?" She boldly exclaimed.

"...Well why shouldn't we?" He shook her a little, her brisk and brief sway under his hold of the back of her vest, raising his finger in prep for another jab with his eyes narrowed, "We're competing here, and everyone's looking to win. As if they wouldn't if they're here."

"That's not a good reason though."

He looked at her as if she grew a second head.

"I understand that everyone who's competing here must really want the wish. So do I. But then, if everyone has a reason why they're fighting, then shouldn't we help each other instead? And besides, we were supposed to hunt other things, not other people. So why..."

A downcast look that softened her youthful feature, "Why should fighting be our only solution?"

That boy who shot off that ant monster from her with his pistol finger, the boys she quickly got along with and their shared prize of the monster fish, a proof of their lack of hostility towards one another. If indeed, that they were all here for a reason, a legitimate reason that could be no different from Emma's, then how cruel it was to demand battle between desperate people with each their own goal in mind.

"Aren't we all people just trying to survive?" She asked the man, a gentle question that demanded his response for it.

Garou stared at her silently. His expression flattened to perplexed. He lowered Emma until her feet touched the ground, releasing her collar as she looked up at him, waiting for his answer still.

He knelt down. The fierce unkind bravado he masked himself in dissipates, and he looked actually quite young, which surprised Emma. Partially coated by the black blood that still drew him with a disturbing appearance, he eyed her almost child-like.

"...Hey kid," He started with a raised unkempt brow, tilting his head that made him look somewhat innocent and somewhat deranged, "What did you _expect_ when you came to this place?"

She paused at his question. "Huh?"

He pointed the ground, "This is a competition."

He pointed at the sky and waved his finger around, "There's several of us competing."

He showed his pointed finger up close, "There's only one wish at stake. You don't think anybody's not going to fight for that? Cause let me tell you this."

He then pointed at her, "People will push each other, steal from each other, maul and backstab, all so that they can feel comfortable wherever they are or wherever they want to go. They can get away with everything as long as they're not the ones who fall under the shorter end of the stick, even if it means screwing over the other guy, and easier if the other guy won't even be missed. You can bet that they'll be willing to do anything if it's to get what they want."

He stood back up, "That's what you end up having when they only _expect_ to win, without a care in the world, while the losers are left to die in the dusk, their own dreams hardly grieved over for. Why shouldn't those losers fight for what they want?"

He raised his hand, his fingers tensed into a claw-like grapple at the air, "It's not a choice. Fact is, we _have_ to fight. It doesn't matter what we're doing or what we're hunting, because we're all racing for the same prize, and you can bet that not a lot of people will want to share it, and they'll be cutting down the competition if so they can get to it faster."

Harsh words that tells the ruthless truth. His memory of which he would suffer the beating, the humiliation, and be pushed to the losing end because he _has _to - or so says others, so says society itself. If he does not fight against that status quo, to let others drag him under the bus, to simply accept the cruel reality and unfairness of everything, then who would even remember the little ugly kid who never had justice serve to him? What did justice itself even do for him? Nothing. And that's why, to face the apathy of his world, he has to be just as cruel and ruthless, he'll beat his way to constant victory when everyone else tells him otherwise or tries to deny him of so.

This competition is also ruthless, the combatants he has met thus far, the heroes and fighters he's challenged and assaulted, what with this competition's own merciless nature that not everyone will achieve their desire, and that they would be faced with such terrible obstacles that he himself has seen enough to be appalled - nothing was ever given generously or kindly, not especially for the unjustified accused. It was a matter that all the combatants must be steadfast, and if he does not convey the same, then he will end up falling as well.

Emma long regarded the man with a galled reaction, a slow fathom to his words, and then to the four-barrel pistol in her hand. Her frown even deeper. _He says that we have to fight_, _but nothing about _wanting_ to fight._

A press between her finger and thumb against the barrel, she puts the gun down by her feet.

"...What are you doing?" He asked her.

She looked at him bravely. "I don't want to fight."

"...You're not going to have a choice."

She stood there, arms braced at her sides, a look that stared unwavering to his yellow-chrome eyes.

An empty reaction to her resolve, he raised his hand higher. Straightening the fingers as the side of his hand aimed for her. Her boldness to spy, take from him, then lost what she took. Who is he to allow a competitor to go, an opponent by default? One which knew about fighting another judging by her artillery, yet makes that spirited proclamation as if she expects him, and others, to do the same as she proclaims.

She was unmoved by his threatening gesture, and he brought down his hand to her right shoulder in powerful swiftness. A shock rushed to her core, her eyes widened and herself stiffened, a wind pressed against her shoulder.

But his strike never touched, and she remained standing. Unharmed.

The side of his fingers of his slow retreating hand brushed her shoulder, "Forget it. I don't have time for this. Got to look for my patch or I'll have to hunt for more stars."

From the exhilaration of that unconnected _attack?_ Emma fell on her bottom. A heavy breath released she did not realize she had been holding, and blinked at the man who turned, takes a piece of scale from the dead King Taijitu, and started his walk away from her.

"I'll spare you this time, but don't expect me to be as merciful twice, so you better hope I don't see you or your friends again."

The scale became a golden star in his grasp and he slips it into his pocket. He stopped suddenly, and turned to her with a point of his finger, "Word of advice. Don't expect anybody to just come and help you whenever, even when you need it. You can't just hope to be saved. You only got yourself to rely on."

He resumed his way, idly waving for the girl behind him, "Good luck surviving this competition, kid."

She watched him go, silently stunned. She reached for her right shoulder, a soft rub at what, for a moment, thought to have suffered his powerful hit. She remained watchful of his back, her sight felt by the man but he continued on, until he could no longer be seen.

Emma sat there to herself, holding onto her right shoulder, and then rested her hands upon the grass. Her thoughts of the young man, that violent, ruthless fighter who never feared his punches as if it was in the name of evil. That terrible being who introduced himself as a fiend with a monstrous personality.

Maybe. He wasn't a bad person after all.

* * *

**_Competitors Introduced:_**

**_Garou (One Punch Man)_**

**Leave a kind and honest review!**


	5. The Ogre Among All Ogres

Chapter 5: The Ogre Among All Ogres

She sat there silently, her eyes fixated upon the path where the young man of silver hair had left, the limping pain in his foot so discreet it would seem that he was walking just fine. He disappeared into the crowded lush of the wilderness, the fright for her life gone like visiting wind. She remained seated on the ground with soft breaths, recuperating.

The sound of crumbling, deterioration startled her back to awareness. The deceased King Taijibu was dissipating into broken small shards of black ashes and fading shadows, little by little. Emma stood up and made more distance to the body of the slain creature, watching as the monster slowly broke apart, until there was nothing left, not even its blood.

So there are monsters who may vanish upon death, a new-found knowledge. The opportunity to take a piece from the Grimm beast was lost, but while she would find it disappointing, or encourage herself to act immediately in collecting a monster's piece next time, her thoughts lingered to the competitor, the young man who kept death at bay from the jaws of the King Taijitu.

She eyed the place longer where the Grimm's existence died away before taking to the rest of the area in a search, finding her rifle, bow, most of the arrows that fell out, and retrieving Gon's fishing rod.

"Is it still around here...?"

She pulled back some bushes, and found it. A sullen shine to the device's redness and with a sheen black under the daylight, wedged in between the overgrown roots. It must have been thrown here by the wolfish man the same time he tossed her. Returning the device back into one of the pockets of her sweater vest, she offered one last regard to the taken path of the young man, and proceeded her own way out of the area.

She had been running directionless in her desperation to keep ahead of the fierce competitor, she completely lost track of her whereabouts, but with her Monster Tracker on her again, she might be able to find Gon and Killua. Though, she knew that they couldn't possibly be in the same place she last saw them, and if they have indeed left for somewhere else, finding them won't be so simple.

But she promised to be their guide through this vast, dangerous forest. She will not leave them here to wander cluelessly. She has to find them. Fast.

Treading her feet through the green forest with both haste and caution, she felt the ground tremble and stopped. A loud tearing through the forest not too far from her, and growing closer. Something was coming her way.

She quickly climbed up one of the large trees, barely reaching the first low branch when the disturber arrived.

A body as tall as the trees, several feet in height, a disturbingly wide, toothy grin, with hair long and dark brown. His appearance was human-like. His arms flailed at his side as he ran through the forest. An ugly looking creature that left Emma gawking, and she remembered a story she once read at the Gracefield House, a story about giants - enormous human-like beings that can crush a person with a single step and eat them with a single chomp.

A flash of light and blue sparks scattered from the back of the titan's head. Its eyes rolled back, the strength in its legs lost as an object suddenly pierced through the back of its knee, a gray spear that appeared to be roughly made out of stone.

"-Craaap!"

Clinging onto the giant's head, a short, teenage boy, with blonde hair that ties to a thick braid, golden eyes, a red coat overlaying his mainly black uniform, and white gloves worn on his hands that were pressed against the back of the giant's head. At the titan's fall and slamming its face against the ground, the boy tumbled over and rolled across the ground a few feet until stopping on his back with a grunt.

"Brother!"

The blonde boy pushes himself to sit, another person came into view. A body covered completely in grayish armor, spikes around both shoulders with a small painted symbol on one side, and a white tail-rag at the tip of his helmet. No face or flesh could be seen, a strange white glowing shine through the opening of his eyes. He came running towards the boy he called brother, passing the fallen giant.

"Are you okay?!"

Edward rubbed his head with a hurt grimace, golden locks between his fingers. "I think so. Come on, let's go before this guy wakes up-"

Suddenly, their entire surrounding shook, the sounds of explosions and breaking of the earth from a distance. Emma nearly fell out of the branch she held onto tightly while the brothers below her staggered at the fierce abrupt quake that lasted for several seconds.

"Holy- What the hell was that?!" Edward quickly stands to his feet.

Alphonse looked around, "I don't know- Brother look out!"

A massive hand reached out behind them. Emma gasped when the reawaken giant nearly took hold of the blonde boy until his brother pushed him away, and the armored person was grabbed instead.

"Al!" Edward looked up in horror at his brother held high above the giant's head, slowly being brought towards the huge smiling teeth.

"D-Don't eat me Mr. giant! Believe me! I really won't taste that great!" Alphonse said as he struggled under the giant's grip.

Emma pulled out her rifle and aimed at the giant. An instant touch to the trigger, but her hesitation taking hold at the human face. Moving the point of her rifle away from its face and to the enormous hand that held the competitor hostage, she prepares to fire while ensuring that she does not shoot the armored person by mistake.

"Let go of my brother you freakin titan!"

A resounding clasp between the hands of the other brother, a clap that rings like a metal bell. He slammed the ground with his white-gloved hands. Blue statics ignited beneath his palms. The ground underneath his touch seemingly mutated and re-structured, a wallop of stone and solid material shot up from the ground like a large serpent, and struck the giant by the cheek.

Emma was caught off-guard by the display of his ability as the titan's head sharply reared away. The titan still held Alphonse in an unrelenting grip, nearing a large boulder and holding Alphonse close to it. Seeing the boulder, with his freed hands, Alphonse clasps them in a quick, prayer-like clap, and slaps the boulder. A similar effect like the blonde boy's action occurs, and an angled geyser of stone punched the giant in the face, smashing its teeth and bellowing a high-pitch cry through his horrifying grinning expression, finally then releasing Alphonse.

Edward dashed for his brother's side. "Run Al!" He sprinted down one direction.

The armored brother joins him, "I'm right behind you!"

"A-Amazing," Emma quietly uttered as the brothers quickly flee from the titan. Steam bleeds through the grinning mouth of the giant, its broken teeth that redden with its blood. The giant gripped the ground, cracking it under its pressure.

Seeing its posture, Emma realized the giant was preparing to lunge itself for the boys and she raised her rifle once more. Steeling her soft heart for its humanoid appearance, and aims for the side of one of its eyes.

**"Fire Ball!"**

Bursting through the bushes, boulders, and half of several trees, a large ball of fire burned everything in its wake, swallowing the grounded titan and burning it into a crisp. An intense heat that charred its skin instantly as a heavy weight slammed its side, sending it against a tree and snapping of its bones.

Emma stumbled, latching onto the bark as a wave of heat brushed her face.

Thrown by the fireball and onto the titan burnt pitch-black, a womanly figure with feathers over her chest and curves, covering her hips down to her bird-like legs, and an enormous array of what must have been a lush of colorful feathers attached to her arms, now blackened and brittle by the intensity of the fire attack.

_A Harpy?_ Emma thought. Bird-like women who could entice men with the enrapturing songs of their voice to bring unfortunate, charmed men to their doom - at least, according to the mythology book Phil had Emma to read to him once upon a time.

She then heard a voice.

"Look out forest! Your most powerful and stunning sorceress; Lina Inverse, is on the scene!"

She looks aside, following the trail that which the fireball left and sent from. Stepping through the burnt path cast by this figure, a girl of petite frame, orange hair flowing down to her back and over her forehead, large flaring eyes of long lashes. She wore clothing that reminded her of a magician's costume. A yellow shirt and red pants, a dark long cloak over her shoulders with some armor that held spherical jewels, and golden orbs as her earrings.

A confident waltz towards the flailing harpy, the winged beast attempted to take the air with several, harsh flaps of her wings. A loud, shrill sound emitted from her throat and a harrowingly wide open mouth that seemed to tear the corner of her lips possibly by the effects of the fire attack. The voice of the harpy could pierce the eardrums to bleed. Emma clings onto the bark, covering the earless side of her head with one hand and cringed in pain from the terrible sound.

"Sheesh. You could make a deaf person roll in agony," a quip from the sorceress, she raises both hands. The harpy drops back down, wings nearly useless for how much they have been burnt. The harpy lunged herself for the human girl with a push of her arms against the ground, screaming all the way.

**"Wind which blows across eternity, gather in my hands and become my strength!"** A wind force surrounds the hands of Lina, a powerful gust twirling the tip of her fingers.** "BRAM GUSH!"**

A powerful spell that cancels and pierces the effects of the Harpy's screech, it tore through the single direction even further, shredding the trees, ground, and the body of the harpy into sliced pieces, and even the giant form of the titan behind the harpy; flesh sliced swiftly as the steam of whether by the fire attack, or the effects of its attempt to regenerate, was blown away by the ferocious breeze.

The effects of this wind spell reached the very tree Emma held onto, battering it with slashes that carved through the tough thick wooden skin as if it was soft butter. Dread beating at her heart and instincts screaming at her to flee, she lets go of the branch. It was a hard landing, but rolling to her side, she was up on her feet without pause and sprinted down the short hill as half of the tree behind her was destroyed. A deep slice through between the roots and the trunk, pushed by the deadly wind, it slowly tilts towards her way.

She jumped at the pounding impact behind her, the brisk scratches the brushes of leaves at her back, but avoiding severe injuries and escaping the imminent fate of either being sliced by wind or being crushed by tree. As she ran, noises of forestall damages, destruction by various powers, and cries of angry monsters hollered all around her. The very same sort of ruckus like two nights ago. The fuss and actions of other competitors in combat.

**"Knife!"**

**"Iron Reaper Soul Stealer!"**

**"Rasengan!"**

Monsters were being slain all around her. Various people she sees on passing and could not afford to stop and say hello, else she would likely get caught up in the midst of rampaging enemies, slashes that carved the earth, magic that spawned to leave everything in ashes, and downright punching creatures faces with their bare fist that exploded on contact.

The debacle of fierce shouting and eruptions of relentless attacks bombards the surroundings. One explosion bursting from the ground and she hurried to the right, a severing attack that knocked down several trees and she ran to the left, a wallop of fire burning through the area and she retreated, a wall of blue energy that blocked her escape and she turned back with the skid and kick of her feet.

_This is getting too out of hand!_

Scurrying through it all as a little being with a blob of orange hair. She stubbornly refuses to cave under the pressure as she sprinted through the chaotic field. She has overcome impossible odds before, she will overcome again! Against all this! Facing despair, death, and demons on a daily, this was a mere step-up of her now adventurous life.

"I WON'T GIVE UP!" Emma shout was basked by the barrage of fighting that noises throughout the entire forest, as more ferocious challengers come to invade and conquer these territories.

/.\

A dark, warm orange and faint streaks of pink paint the sky, creamy-looking gray-white clouds into the mixture at a snail-slow pace. Wild animal critters of the forest finding new accustomed to the fallen and destroyed scene, burnt grounds that left nothing but dirt which little rabbits and ferrets dig in as their new homes. Birds rebuilding their nests upon the messily rustled bushes of shredded trees that scattered everywhere, several feet deep slashes that also carved through broken stones, leaving only shattered pieces.

Peace reigns here, in this area that was once ruled by the presence of monsters, no longer wandering within the vicinity.

Enormous trees clutter over each other, a small opening at the center of it. Inside, Emma blinked at the sunsetting sky. "Is it over?"

During the fiasco, she found shelter within the fallen trees, though it would hardly do good as a protected space if there are people or monsters with incredible power that easily slice through it all. She remained there regardless, much less of her willful decision as her foot got stuck between the branches, but by the time she freed herself, everything outside this space has quieted. The shouting of the other competitors was gone, only calm serenity of twittering birds and the chipping teeth of squirrels.

"I really hope Gon and Killua are okay." She grabbed the bark and climbed up, closer to the exit. "I wonder if that man made it through all this too?"

That silver-haired fighter clearly had an aptitude of quarreling against tremendous obstacles with that incredible strength of his. She thought back how she had even asked him, intuitively, if he was human. He did not deny it, so she took it as a yes, much to her incredulity. She never knew humans could be capable of being that strong, the kind of strength that would challenge upfront against a demon in her world. For him to have ripped an entire tree from the ground with his bare hands and pummel a monster with his fists and kicks. It was incredible.

For how uncalled for it was to instigate a fight from her companions, one which she very much disliked him for even if she takes his word that he was unable to truly harm them, she was marveled by him all the same, and wondered if someone like her could achieve that sort of strength too.

Footsteps on the severed log of the tree, Emma paused. Over her head, amber eyes met her surprised green ones.

"Huh? Oh! There you are!" He looked over his shoulder, "Killua! I found Emma!"

"Gon?" She hurriedly climbed out of the opening. Gon hopped below as Emma slid down the thick root that was as wide as her body.

"I'm so happy to see you're alright! We weren't sure if we would ever find you," A happy sparkle in his eyes as Killua appeared, jumping down behind Gon.

The assassin waved at her befuddled face, "Hey. You're still alive after all."

"Gon. Killua!" Oh what a relief, they're both alive and well. "Are you guys okay? Are either of you hurt?" Emma asked them insistently.

They appeared to be hardly scuffed at all, much to her increasing amazement. So then that man was telling the truth. He could not hurt them no matter how much he obviously tried. Could children like them really be this durable? Incredible! These boys are really incredible!

"Yeah, we're fine. We barely made it through all this though," Killua stated, looking over the ruined area. "Looks like the other competitors are a lot stronger than we expected. Not to mention reckless."

They may as well be as bad as Gon.

"So, you were able to get away from that guy, huh?" He added, looking back at her.

A moment to comprehend his meaning, Emma blinked when she realized he was referring to the silver-haired competitor, "Oh. No. He did catch me."

The boys stared at her.

"SERIOUSLY!?" The volume of their shout was enough to frazzle Emma's hair.

Killua eyed her up and down in examination, "And you're... alright?"

He sees no broken bones or bruises. A few scratches but that was all. She was left alive but Killua would have thought she'd be severely injured if she had indeed done the very stupid thing to attract that competitor's attention.

"Well, he did poke me. Really hard," she held over her abdomen with one arm. "It was just a couple of jabs though. He didn't do anything else. He...actually, kind of, protected me."

"Huh?" Befuddled by her answer, Killua wondered if she hit her head.

"Did he?" Gon asked curiously.

Emma nodded, "When he caught me, we were near a monster's territory. I was so busy running away that I didn't check my Monster Tracker. He was holding onto me and kept me away from the monster until he was able to kill it."

"Ah. I get it. It's because you had his stars," Killua easily concluded. "Gon saw what you did. Got to say, that was really stupid of you to do."

She flinched at his blunt honesty.

"You know we weren't really in all that much trouble, right? Well, I guess you wouldn't have known, and it looks like having his patch kept you from getting a serious beating," he added. "Obviously, with his stars on you, he couldn't let you get eaten unless he was willing to lose those."

Emma looked down in thought. Although a reasonable suggestion, she somehow doubted that. If collecting stars really was something important to that man, why did he not take hers? He even threatened to, but never followed through with it. Perhaps he forgot about it. Or had he simply lost interest in taking them?

"Say... How many stars did he have?" Gon asked her, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Recalling back, Emma remembered clearly, "Six stars."

For that person to have gathered that many in three days, he must either have hustled tremendously, had the misfortune to constantly encounter monsters and able to successfully defeat them, or he was truly that strong and ruthless of a hunter.

The third option sounded the most likely to Emma. "Why do you ask?"

Gon reaches into the side-pocket of his green shorts, "While we were looking for you and getting through all that fighting, we found this."

She looked at what Gon shows and gasped. "Th-thats-!"

In his hand, a patch that was not Gon's, with six gold star-shape badges stuck to it. "It was in a tree we were using to travel through. We thought that a competitor must have lost it while all the fighting was going on."

"But it looks like it might have belonged to that guy after all," Killua joined.

Gon nodded, looking at the patch held between his finger and thumb, "It's how I was able to find you here. I have a really good sense of smell, and this patch had that guy's scent, but it also had your scent too, Emma. It was kind of hard trying to track you through all the fighting going on. This patch really helped us look for you."

"Wow..." Emma's eyes glimmered. A powerful sense of smell, impenetrable forms, was there nothing more these wonderful boys could do?!

Gon smiled widely at her, "I'm just glad I was able to track you at all. A good thing too that you're not hurt."

"Yeah, and now with that guy's patch," a devious grin bloomed in Killua's expression, "We're basically done with the preliminary."

A long look at the assassin, Gon and Emma exchanged confused looks, "...What do you mean?"

_Dense..._ A sour glare from Killua he aimed at the two other kids. He saw, however, a light bulb flicker in Emma's eyes.

"Oh! These stars. That man's... stars..." She looked at the patch Gon held, looked back at Killua, then back at the patch. Gon was completely lost.

"EHHHH?!" Emma shouted, startling Gon. "Wait a minute! We can't take these! They're not ours!"

At last, Gon understood. "Killua. We can't just take other people's patches. We're supposed to hunt monsters, not other people's stars."

Perhaps if they were specifically chasing after other competitors' badges, like how it was at the Hunter's Exam, then that would be a different story. But as it is, it was simply unwarranted.

"Why not? It's basically first come first serve," Killua argued, aside from being bitter and finding it Just after that competitor came after them the way he did.

"We're not here to take other people's stars," Gon said again.

A questioning gaze from Killua. "Well then what are we supposed to do with this? We can't just go looking for him and give it back to that guy." As if they would anyhow.

Gon thought it over for a moment, staring at the patch of six stars. "I'm not really sure..."

"Look," Killua started, "If Emma's tracker actually tracked that guy as a monster, then we're not really just taking anyone's stars, we're basically still following the rules."

"He's still a competitor though... What do you think, Emma?" Gon decided to ask the girl for her thoughts.

Emma pondered with a worrying frown, "Won't it be bad if that man finds us again? If he realizes that we have his stars..."

"Then we can just give it back to him."

A simple suggestion that surprised even Emma, Gon confidently stated this while Killua sighed in exasperation.

"He might still want to fight us," Gon continued, "but either way, I don't want to take the easy way to win, Killua. That's just no fun, and it's not what we're here to do."

"Yeah? Well, you do remember that we're competing against probably several thousands of other competitors?" Killua pointed out. "One way or another, we'll probably end up fighting them, even if we're not looking for it, guys like that guy might think we're easy targets to steal our stars from just because we're kids."

Emma's face turned sullen, reminded of the words of the wolfish man. That there was no choice but to fight. A telling of a supposed truth she wanted to object to, "That's not true. I still have my stars."

She showed them her patch of two golden stars. "He saw that I had my patch. He could have easily taken it, but he never did."

In all honesty, with the way he introduced himself and goes about everything in this particular manner, it seemed like he was _trying_ to act purposefully bad, and while he certainly was mean enough to pick a fight with Gon and Killua, an individual capable of emitting terror into her heart, there was something about him that didn't strike her as someone who is truly a bad person, neither someone who was willing to achieve something by any means necessary, or does anything cruel for the fun of it no matter how much he smiled wickedly. She never felt that impression from him, if anything...

He felt distant; a lonely figure. It reminded her of the nameless man and his years of sorrow.

"He... didn't take your stars?" Killua was surprised to hear that. If her stars weren't taken, then either that man had some estranged honor, or he had some other motive, perhaps simply seeking anyone to fight for the fun of it like that creepy magician in their world who has a fixation for Gon; Hisoka.

"I don't think he's bad," Emma tells her feelings to them, "I'm not excusing him for what he did. But if someone like him would let me go, then maybe it's better to think that not everyone here is someone we have to fight."

Gon looked down at the patch in his hand, "...How about this? Maybe what we can do is hold onto these stars. On the last day, if we haven't hunted at least two or three more monsters for us, then we can keep these."

A deep sigh, Killua scratched his head in mulling but otherwise accepting the compromise, "Fine. If that's how you want to do it, then we'll go with that. You have a point anyway, Emma, if that guy finds out we have his patch. Let's hope we don't come across him again."

Although they had the advantage of knowing Nen, that man was not to be taken lightly. That devastating aura on par with Ren, Killua knew in his heart that if they meet with that fierce competitor again, that person will have to die. His gut and instinctive caution as an assassin tells him that if that young man were to resume living, harrowing things will follow, inflicted by that competitor.

Was this his true feelings, or was that man's influence of fear lingering in his thoughts? Either way, it did not matter, Killua knew what he must do.

Emma glanced up at the darkening sky, "It's going to be night soon. I was hoping that we reached the Ogre village by the end of the day..." But as it is now, with their confrontation against the silver-haired competitor and all the fighting that happened in this area, lasting for several hours, their closing reach to their destination was delayed by about several more miles.

Killua kicked away a small chunk of the ground. "Tomorrow will be the fourth day. That's three more days until the preliminary is over."

Though plenty of time, if Gon insists that they don't take these extra stars for themselves and they slack off in the slightest, they could be blindsided and fail the preliminary. While they were searching for Emma, after everything came to a calm, Gon and Killua have not seen a single monster in this area. The other competitors must have hunted all of the beasts that lived around here.

If it turns out that the monster they are seeking for has already been captured or killed, and all the monsters in this entire forest have been wiped out, then they will have to seek game elsewhere, probably the mountains. Although, they do not know what powerful creature lives there, it was a risk they will have to take if this forest will no longer be of any use.

"Hey, do you still have that tracker?" Killua asked Emma.

She reaches into her vest pocket and revealed the red and black device placed in there. "Yup!"

"Cool. Are you okay with traveling at night?"

She nodded affirmatively, "It'll probably be more dangerous, but if you guys are alright with that, and if we stop for a break a few times along the way, we'll probably reach the Ogre village by morning. Noon at the latest."

A good estimation. "Alright, let's get going then."

Agreeing with a brief bob of his head, Gon looked at their guide, "Lead the way, Emma."

With a perky expression, she answered with much vigor, "Right! I'll do my best!"

/.\

In the next hour, night was upon them. The three children took camp inside one of the trees that was large enough for all of them to fit inside and have room to spare still, the moonlight shining like a lamp through the hole of the tree that was both their exit and entrance. No fire was lit, else they would burn the tree.

Emma shared her last remaining Frenzy Boar jerky to her two traveling companions, and eaten out everything from the lunch box the ogres had gifted her with a food stash that would have lasted herself two more days, but so long as her friends do not hunger, she was happy to have all of them eat something. They were almost to the village anyway, so it was really nothing to mind over.

In the midst of their nightly travel up until this point, there had been no monster detected by her tracker, and they had not come across a single other competitors in the last several hours. It seems those who had partaken the battle here has gone far elsewhere, and likely, all the monsters who previously lived here have either fled to another part of the forest, or they have been killed and taken away entirely. Or perhaps, whatever remains of the monsters that still lingers somewhere around here, it could not be tracked by her tracker so long as they are dead.

Emma began to think about her friends the ogres, worrying over their monstrous attributes that other competitors would have reasons to hunt them for. Although the ogres were a stern race, they were overall a group who merely prefers to keep to themselves, but were welcoming of those who have done them kindness. She found solace that the ogre village was at a considerable distance from where the fighting occurred, and takes comfort in reasoning that surely, if someone were to speak with that group peacefully, then they would realize that no harm is needed to inflict from either side.

"Hey. I've been wondering..."

Emma turned to Gon who piped her a question.

He points to his neck, referencing hers, "Why do you have those numbers on you?"

Killua lay his back against the bark wall, the lower half upon the trunk, and arms crossed behind his head. He opened one eye that was previously shut for a brief, yet conscious sort of nap, interested in hearing her answer as he too wondered the series of numbers tattooed upon the girl.

Emma raises her hand for the side of her neck, touching upon the black numbers; numbers that, once upon a time, she had also been curious to know the meaning of them. When she asked Mama about them, her given answer was that it represents the specialness that she and the other children carry, and that it was completely normal. Emma did not know anything beyond what was considered normal living in Gracefield, so the answer was accepted, and she never pressed the subject further, trusting the word of her foster guardian completely.

She should have realized it then. She felt ashamed to not catch on the strangeness of her imprinted lifestyle earlier. If she had thought to keep questioning herself, if she had known that something was wrong, or had known as much as Ray did, she would have helped him suffer the burden of the truth much less, she would have helped freed her entire family much sooner, she could have saved those from being shipped, her older and younger siblings, she could have saved Conny and Norman.

Instead, she chose to be obliviously complacent, and allow the death of her family to continue as far as it had.

"This..." She grabbed the collar of her sweater, "Well... It's my identification number."

"An identification number?" Gon asked confused.

She nodded, "I've had it for as long as I can remember. Everyone at my orphanage has it. Even our foster mother."

"That's kind of weird," Killua said. "What kind of orphanage did you live in if you have numbers marked on your body? That sounds more like a prison."

She looked down, "It... basically was."

"Oh..." Killua's eyes slightly widened, and went quiet afterward.

Gon inclined himself closer with a short scoot, "What do you mean?"

Emma wrapped her arms around her knees. "The orphanage was this big house, in the middle of a grassy field that was surrounded by trees. There was a metal fence that led us know not to cross it, and there was a gate that all the children who were... adopted, go to, and step out to the outside world. At first, I thought all of it was something to keep anything dangerous out, but it was really a place that was actually meant to keep us in."

Noticing her tone, Gon asked her, "Was it bad?"

She gently shook her head, "It wasn't. It was my home. A home that I loved, that all my family loved. It's where I grew up, where all of our happiest memories were made."

"Then why did you call it a prison?"

She lowered her head, her chin behind her cradling arms, "It wasn't just a prison. It was a farm."

Killua sits up, very attentive now as Gon asked her, "A farm?"

The only meaning he knew of farms were barns, cows, pigs, chickens, tending the crops, things that he knew casually and were even a way of life for some of the people on Whale Island. Living on a farm was a way of life for farmers, so why did Emma found that troubling?

"The truth was," Emma began to explain, "my home wasn't an orphanage. All of us who lived there... We were meant to be food."

A startling reveal that made Gon visibly recoiled and Killua blink, "Huh?"

Pulling her knees to her chest, she told them her story, "In my world; the world I thought was a normal world, it wasn't at all what I thought. The orphanage that I lived in, Gracefield, was a place where all the orphans were raised and cared for until we get "adopted" and leave the house - that's what we always understood. Our foster mother, we all call her Mama, she loved us so much, we all thought of her as our real mom even if we're not related by blood. She would tell us that we were all going to grow up and live a wonderful life when we get adopted, live in a new home, meet with new loving parents..."

She held herself in a slight clutch, "One day, our little sister, Conny, was adopted. Our Mama took her to her new parents outside the gates, and we stayed inside the house after we said our goodbyes. While we were getting ready to clean the house, I found Conny's stuff bunny. It was her favorite toy, she was never anywhere without it. We thought she somehow forgot it, so I went with my friend Norman, and we hurried to the gates Mama told us to never go no matter what."

The horrifying memory resurfaced, the agony of it breaking through her expression, "We found Conny. She was in the back of a truck. She... she was dead. Stabbed in the heart and soaked in water. We heard a noise then and hid... That's when we saw them..."

The demons.

She explained her story more. The terrible truth she discovered, the revealed fates of the other siblings who had been adopted, the fake kindness of their mother and her deluded love, the mission to escape that farm and the success of it after the loss of her close friend and beloved member of their foster family.

Gon frowns at the sorrowful story while Killua listens quietly. The assassin was unfazed by death and horrors, but he comprehended the unfortunate circumstances of Emma. Though Gon looked focused, he was shocked by the situation of herself and her family. That such a world could actually exist like it was something out of a fairytale-horror story.

"After we were able to escape our home, we met with friendly demons who don't eat humans. They told us that a long time ago, there was a war between demons and humans. One day, a human came up with an idea to stop all the fighting, he got to convince the demons and together, they made a Promise that ended the war. The Promise separated the worlds between demons and humans, but the demons still needed to eat, so..."

"...They built a farming system to raise humans as livestock," Killua filled in the blanks, much to Gon's increasing disturbance of this.

"That's so awful..." Gon said with a deep frown. "So, you're trying to reach the human world."

Emma nodded, "If I can get my family to the Human World, then we wouldn't have to be afraid of being eaten anymore. There are other kids like us trapped in the Demon World, though. Other Cattle Children who are living in the other orphanages, a lot more were living in factories that kept them chained down, they don't even know what it was like to live. I want to free them all, and take us all to the Human World. So far, I know that there was a path we can take and escape the Demon World, but it's really dangerous. Another way would be to change the Promise, but to do that, we would have to sacrifice something important."

"And that's why you're here," Gon understood at once. "With the wish, you could help every kid in your world get to the human world."

"That's kind of the gist of it," though it was a highly simplified form of resolution. There was so much to be done, and several consequences that could occur; the crisis that could erupt once severing the original Promise. Emma still did not know how to make her wish or if she could get it, she just knew she could not pass this opportunity up.

And meeting these boys who live among other humans, it may offer her a glimpse of what to expect at the other side of the world the cattle children like her are forbidden from, but meeting with those who are also competitors fighting for the same prize, she had to know.

"Do you guys also have a wish?"

The boys shared a glance, a debate if they should answer with the specifics. Killua talked first, "Sort of. We're here to get stronger. Back in our world, we have a serious mission to do as Hunters. We have to be at our very best before we can go through with it. This competition might be a way to help us get ready for whatever might happen after we go back to our world."

"There's also someone I want to save," Gon answered, "We're here to train, but if we do get the wish, we might be able to help him."

"Who is he?" Emma asked tenderly, already moved at his confessed mission of saving someone.

"His name's Kite. He's a friend who's also been kind of like our teacher, but he's more than that..." Gon expressed warmly, "He's the reason why I decided to become a Hunter. He knew my father Ging. He was the one who told me all about being a Hunter. I wouldn't have wanted to go out and look for my dad if I hadn't met Kite."

A smile that was as white as summer's rays in the middle of this night, he added beamingly, "I owe him a lot. Because of him, I met my best friend in the whole world Killua!"

The boy beside him sputtered loudly from the unhesitant, appreciative and treasurable words Gon spoke for the companion near him. Deep redness colored Killua's pale features, "Geez! Don't you ever feel embarrassed saying stuff like that!?"

Gon looked at him, "No. Why would I?"

"You-! Ugh. There's no getting through to you..."

A lovely smile curled the corners of her lips as Emma watched the boys, a twinge of guilt in her eyes while she listens to their story and personal reason for being in this competition. She knew that there would be people here for a reason, a reason that cannot be achieved by earning it in their world alone. She knew, if she was here with a goal in mind, then so were many others.

She had this thought at the edge of her mind, whether meaning to or not, focused as she was to achieve the future she wanted. But here it was, the truth of the matter right in front of her, and she has to face it.

_There's only one wish at stake. You don't think people aren't gonna fight for that?_

The words of the wolfish competitor became all the more apparent, the harsh reality which Emma cannot distract herself from any longer. She thinned her mouth tightly as guilt rises in her heart. Why must they compete for this one thing if it's for the sake of something? Why should only one be allowed the wish when likely so many need it as much? If she fights for her family, then that means she must take that wish from others. Who is she to leave them in the dust when they may also have people waiting for them back home that they are here putting their lives on the line for? Who is she to have that one wish all for herself?

"I hope you'll save all the kids in your world, Emma."

She looked up at Gon's declare, and saw him offer his hand to her, "Let's both do our best while we're here! There may be one wish at the end of this, but I hope that we'll both get what we want. So let's work hard!"

A heartfelt encouragement that did not recognize Emma as an opponent or obstacle, nor offense for admitting her desire for the prize, but a complete understanding of a friend whom he wishes success in her mission.

"You don't have to feel bad," Gon assured at her obvious troubled feelings, "It's like you said before, we should just be willing to help each other. I believe that! So while there's only one wish, I'm sure we'll figure something out!"

_I'm not leaving anyone behind! Let's figure something out!_

A burst of new found enthusiasm as her sadness drifted away, reminded of the passionate, determined self that had moved her and her family out from that cage disguised under several layers of love and granted exuberant, youthful life that was meant to only be temporary. What was considered impossible, they had done it by their joined efforts.

If Gon hadn't said his proclamation, Emma would have offered the same proposal.

"Right... You're right! We'll definitely figure something out!" She raised her hand and clapped with Gon's. A wide smile from both spirited individuals.

"Exactly! I don't know how but I'm sure we can do it!"

"Yeah! We just got to look out for it!" A small pout of her thinking multiples of solutions, "Um... maybe we can wish for two wishes?"

"Wish for... Oh wow, I hadn't even thought of that," Gon's eyes lit up, "That's actually a good idea!"

"I'm honestly not sure how it'll work, but it's worth a try! We'll think more ideas along the way anyway!"

Killua watched them silently, bemused internally at their declaration. He decided to say nothing about their agreement, the challenge and question it was instantly provided with. Closing his eyes, he counts down the seconds until they were ready to move again as Gon and Emma began discussing the various probability of how to share the wish.

The majority of the night was spent in this peaceful comfort.

/.\

Rained by the moonlight as crickets chirped below in the tall dark grass, a low growl from his mouth that tasted iron, he squirmed in his sleeping position upon the thick tree branch. A lingering ache in Garou's stomach that he held with his hand as he turned to his side, "Kid hit me real good. Next time I see him, I'm not pulling back."

A mumbled groan from the pain he learned to feel accustomed to in his years of fighting and coming out of it beaten and bloodied like it was his Sunday's clothing, he then thinks to himself, _Got to find a way to get more stars fast. I'll have to start looking first thing in the morning._

Another yank of pain to his abdomen and he grumbled, pressing his palm against it, "Damn, this is really hurting. Hope that runt didn't hit something important..."

He spent the rest of the night sleeping through the pain, pushing back the pain with his will and endurance.

/.\

The Forest of Doom was in continuing tranquility even as morning was aloft. A quiet trip through the green-brown rough terrain as they left the destroyed area, and move onto the more lush, capricious nature's bounty of the wilderness in greenery. Emma remains the lead as Gon and Killua follows close behind. The active Monster Tracker in her hands as they crossed a log over a small creek that flows a flat stream below and plumped stones.

Not once have they seen a competitor or monster, hardly any such signs detected by her device and only found wild animals and beautiful plants. Killua was actually impressed by how far Emma has stuck with them, able to keep up a surprisingly well pace, even after having been awake most of the night to keep watch without complaint or damper in her run. Remembering her story last night, it made sense that she would have to adapt under serious survival circumstances in order to keep herself from being killed, that or someone must have taught her. Either way, they were making decent time.

Of course, he and Gon were slowing down this much on purpose for her sake, but this trip was made easier than it would if they were to have traveled with someone who was less athletic.

Gon has obviously taken a liking to her, a bubbly yet firmly resolute character, a like-minded trait Gon shares. Killua supposes she wasn't that bad, but he could tell that she has the qualities of someone who can occasionally be air-headed. However, there was a sharpness in her observing gaze Killua quickly took notice of, and after seeing her interest with how he silently walked on his toes, Killua realized that she was a natural fast learner as she tries to copy his movements, succeeding for a moment before returning to the flat of her feet.

"Trying to walk like me?"

Emma perked at Killua's question, "Ah. Yeah. It's really cool how quiet you walk. It kind of hurts after a while though."

"That was pretty good," Killua commented, a no mere praise. He was genuinely impressed by how quickly she followed his movements to the tiniest little shift in his footing. _Was she a child genius_ he wonders. "You're a really good learner, aren't you?"

She nodded, "How did you learn to walk like that?"

Killua smirked, "My family taught me. We have to learn how to be discreet in our family business as assassins."

"Oh! I see. That makes sense."

A pause after hearing his response. Killua stared at her.

"YOU'RE AN ASSASSIN?!"

_There it is_, thought Killua. A good thing no monster was nearby to hear her reaction.

"Oh yeah! We never told you that, did we?" Gon asked mildly as if to confirm.

"She made a better reaction than you did," Killua said to him.

Gon frowned, "Huh? I didn't react that badly."

"Exactly. Ha ha!" Killua laughed, "You actually said it was cool! Her reaction is what I usually get from _normal_ people."

"Mm. Normal is boring anyway," Gon stuck his tongue at the cattish Killua.

Emma was still processing what was said, wrapping her mind around the fact that the child who stood beside her could hold such an occupation. "Wait, so... have you... killed people before?"

Killua nodded without hesitation. "Yup. Being an assassin was the path my family chose for me before I decided that I wanted to become a Hunter instead. I wanted to do something different, something that isn't decided by anyone else."

He looked at her dumbfounded reaction and smiled, "Does it bother you?"

"Uh... well..." A try of wording her response, she clamped her hands together repeatedly, "I-it is surprising. But, it also makes a lot more sense now, with how strong and quiet you are. You do kind of give off that vibe, but I wouldn't have guessed that you would be a real assassin."

She would have thought Ninja before Assassin, although there was really not that much difference, as far as she knows from what she's read anyway.

"Not about me being an Assassin exactly," Killua rephrased. "Does it bother you that I've killed people?"

Startled by his question, Emma looked to her feet. "Well... To be honest... It... is kind of..."

She clenched and re-clenches her fingers, Killua waited patiently for her answer. By now, they've stopped their travel as soon as Emma heard his reveal. Uncertain of how to give her answer, she decided to be direct and upfront of her feelings, looking at Killua in the eye.

"I don't like killing. It sounds hypocritical since I hunt animals for food, and kill demons who could talk and think like you and me. Most of them were wild but they were still something that could probably be as human."

She faintly rocked by the heels of her feet back and forth, "But even with that, I can't really imagine myself killing another human. To me, murder is wrong. But you're a nice person!" She quickly added, "You were raised in that profession, so it's not like I can judge you for what you do if it wasn't even your choice to begin with, you even said that you left it."

"Wow, you're a real softie, huh?"

A nudge to the shoulder by Gon.

"I'm not making fun of her," Killua assured his frowning companion before returning to Emma, "It's just that people usually don't take me seriously if I tell them, and if they do they get scared or angry, and look at me like I'm some sort of monster. I don't mind those looks, and it's not like they're way of seeing me is wrong. You are right though. I didn't choose to become an assassin, that's why I wanted to pick my own path in life, so I left the family business, but all their efforts in making me who I am still sticks with me today."

His smile became hollow, a dark glint in his eyes that suddenly darkened into a shineless blue. The deep ocean color sinking further into the darkest depths. A wave of unease swarmed through Emma, sharp pinch at her survival instincts, as if his cold, dagger-finger like nail points to her soul with his gaze alone. "I know what you're trying to say, but believe me, I'm really not a nice person."

She could not find a proper rebuttal, she did not know what to say to someone who has taken human life and looks no older than she, and against that sort of answer that made her feel as if she stepped into icy-cold water she instantly wanted to jump out from. Killua turned before she could even think to say anything, and silently moved onwards.

Gon approached her in her dumbfoundedness, "Don't worry, it's nothing to take personally. He just sometimes likes to scare people. I'm sure he knows that you were just trying to understand."

Emma considered his words. Disturbed by the sudden fear Killua calmly placed in her mind with just a look, making his claims of his ex-profession all the more likely, though she never took his claims as false. Who would claim such things out of nowhere? She can't see how anyone would, so it must be true. She stood there, stunned and unsure of herself as she looked at the back of the assassin for another longer.

_His eyes. They seemed so... sad._

To be raised as a child trained in the ways of stealing the life of a human, he must have lived a terribly cold, difficult life.

"...Hey. Are we anywhere near the village yet?"

Refocusing the task at hand, Emma looked down at her tracker in hand, her expression lightening, "Yeah. We're actually getting really close now. It's just north from here."

She was eager and can barely wait to meet the ogres again, she hopes they'll be accepting of strangers though.

"You mean that way?"

She looked up to see Killua pointing ahead, and what he points to exactly.

Above the trees and from a distance, several black clouds of smoke trails up to the sky. A frown falls above her eyes, a sudden awful feeling settled in her stomach. "Fire?"

Gon ran up to one of the trees in front of them. A quick climb that took only a single leap, he stood upon the branch near the top and sniffs the air. "...Those aren't wildfires, but those are definitely not from campfires." The smokes were too thick, something was burning but not the forest itself, rather likely, they came from establishments.

The awful feeling grew inside her. Emma broke into a run, passing the calmly observant Killua as Gon shouted over her head, "Emma!"

"Let's go!" Emma shouted back at them. "We have to hurry! Someone might be in trouble!"

Seeing her rushing for what they can only assume to be what they were reaching for, the boys followed her quickly behind. Emma held her tracker at hand, but it was no longer needed. Recognizing this part of the forest, she knew exactly where she was going without having to see the trail of smoke. With a belated breath, she rushes through the opening of the woods, hopping over ledges and bushes with the boys catching up easily.

"I'll scout ahead," Killua said. "Gon, stay with Emma."

Gon nodded and Killua takes the lead, a sudden dash that his body seemingly vanished through the incredibly fast motion, he was instantly gone from sight. Emma would have been at awe, but her worries for the ogres were a greater hold. After a few minutes, they reached an exit out of the cluttered forest and onto the open field, and Emma's fear came to light, looking on in horror.

What remains of the ogre village was only rummages, a few places in flames. Broken down houses and its pieces scattered all over, chunks of every house barely remained standing by the support beams that creaked and dwindled in strength every second. Blood also lay around here, everywhere; in spray and dragged like it was done by the swift motion of several paintbrushes, but in a greater quantity that could only be done by either hand or the gush of open wounds.

"Hello?! Is anyone here?!" Emma ran up closer to one of the burning buildings. Gon grabbed her by the hand.

"Be careful! With all that smoke you could-"

She had already pulled out and covered her mouth with a cloth that had been used to wrap her lunchbox, holding it against her nose and mouth as her eyes intensified with such focus. Gon said nothing more, and went with her through the village. There was no body, but there was a lot of blood. Killua was found at the center of the village, in front of a large building of what used to be the main house where the chieftain and his son have lived in, now occupied with nothing but destruction and fire.

"I don't see anyone," Killua stated when Gon and Emma hurriedly approached him.

"We have to keep looking!" Emma insisted, "There could be survivors! We have to be sure!"

Killua's expression was mute, _there's no point_, he wanted to say, but said enough with his eyes. By the look of this scene, it was telling enough. A massacre happened here. There may not even be any survivors.

But at seeing Gon's firm expression that wanted to abide Emma's firm declare, who had already gone off to look in the other houses, Killua sighed, "Alright, we'll look through everything."

They worked together to put out the flames using the water they found in some of the houses, carried in buckets and bowls. By the time they put out the fire, they found no ogre among the wreckage. No burnt victims mean no dead person, Emma comforted herself with this, her face determined to find out what happened with the friendly occupants who had peacefully lived among here.

They searched for any evidence, but found none and if there were, most of them have been turned to black-gray dust of its remains. Blackened shadows at the corners of the doorways and windows and steps. Broken down walls and gaped opening that spilled out broken burnt wood. It did not need to be specified, however, that some sort of scuffle happened, but without anyone here to question, they can only assume.

"Did a competitor did this?" Gon asked, leaving behind the brunt items and stepping out of the ruined house that looks as if it was crashed through by a body.

"It would make sense," answered Killua. "If the ogres are monsters, competitors would go after these guys to get a star out of them. It looks like it was done by a group, and there was obviously a lot of fighting. We haven't found any bodies though, so either the ogres ran away, or they were taken for some reason."

A contemplative look as Emma picks up a burnt-to-black, small cloak-like thing that seemed to originally had a lot of furs, not ruined beyond repair or recovery. Thoughts instantly arrived at her given gift of the Frenzy Boar hide for her new friend the child ogre. An aching rise of her anxious worries for the said child and his whereabouts or if he is alright. She glanced down at the burnt tools of what was used to make the wonderful, intricate and colorful carpets. Creation of art, destroyed by the blunt force of some kind of large object, a fist imprinted in the ground.

"Whoever did this, they couldn't have taken all the ogres," Emma calmly said looking at some of the footprints that lead into the forest, though it was a guess on its own to suggest which print is whose. An ogre? A competitor? Something else? "We also can't be sure if it's really competitors. The chief's son told me about there being other monster groups they don't get along with."

Killua mentally credited Emma for her cool-headed thought-process, he honestly found it surprising that someone as bubbly as her could also be this way. He watched as the girl walks closer to the set of footprints.

"I can't tell at all with these footprints," she added, "Was it an ambush?"

"I can't tell either, they're all too scrambled. What should we do?" Gon asked. Killua shrugged, looking at the burnt down house beside them.

"There's not much we can get from here. We'll just have to keep moving." A bummer that their trip here was for naught. They will have to seek out their monster on their own, and if Emma would be willing to stick around with them, she could lead them to their next game with that tracker of hers.

"Wait! I might be able to know where the rest of the ogres went."

Surprised by her claim, they looked at Emma who held up her Monster Tracker, "There's a special feature here I looked through a while ago. If I use it, I might be able to track them even if they're far away."

If she had previous interaction with a certain monster, and if she were to use a sample of the monster be it a piece or anything else, the device might be able to analyze and follow a trail left behind by said monster. She had tested this when reading up about the Banana Fish in greater detail, and discovered a sort of mapping mechanic that had the potential to lead her to the other various lakes hidden somewhere that houses other Banana Fishes. Though its way of tracking a creature that lived underwater would be accumulated to following a faint scent trough dusty clouds, how would it be for monsters she's personally interacted with?

She approached the splattered blood on the dirt, a gulp of her discomfort in her throat not just for its gore, but for whose blood this could have belonged to. She reached down and grabbed only a finger clutch of the blood and rubbed it on the screen of her tracker. Gon and Killua moved closer and watched attentively over her shoulders and the blood be analyzed by the device. A loading screen of a spiraling shape, and then an answering beep.

**[Blood Analyzed.**

**Species Identified: Monster.**

**Probability of Identification: 95% Ogre.]**

A Track button appeared on the screen. She pressed one of the small round buttons next to the screen to click the option.

**[Initiating Tracking...**

**Scanning vicinity(50 meters)...]**

The screen switched into what appears to be camera mode. Emma directed the device in front of her and moved it until she faced the set of scattered footprints. Through the screen, a few sets of the footprints glowed red with a hovering label that read: "Ogre," leading one trail into the forest.

"Yes! I can track them!" Emma looks back at the boys with a smile. "With this, we'll be able to find where the rest of the ogres are!"

"That thing really is amazing..." Killua whispered his confound. "I wonder if there's other stuff we could find to get ahead of this competition."

"There has to be," Gon told Killua. "Remember the village we visited? The people there told us about **Support Cards**."

Intrigued by their conversation, Emma piped in, "Support Cards?"

"Yeah," Killua answered. "It's these special cards we heard about. Remember when we told you two nights ago about our adventure on Greed Island? The cards we used there almost sounds exactly like these cards that we might find around here."

He disregards himself with a wave of his hand. "We'll tell you more about it later. If you want to follow the trail, we better get to it now before it gets cold."

"Ah! You're right! Come on guys!" Emma ushered them along as she starts following one of the footprints.

The children walked along the tracks that led them back into the forest, proceeding through the thick surroundings and rough lands for several minutes or so, and then, a presence was detected.

"There's something ahead of us," Emma informed, glancing at the boys. They share a wonder; was it one of the ogres? Or was it another monster they need to be careful of.

Stealthily, they crossed the forest plains into closing vicinity of the detected monster. In the map, the presence – represented as a white dot – jerked towards their direction, and moved for them with brisk speed.

"It's coming for us!"

Gon and Killua immediately take the front, ready to fight. Emma pulls out her rifle, a careful aim at the monster that approaches. A minute later, the detected presence was among them, and a figure dropped from the trees. A tall human-like creature, with pale blue skin and dark purple hair, horns and paint-like markings on his features, and sharp fangs poking out from the bottom of his lips. He met them with a narrowed gaze, but upon the creature's eyes meeting Emma's, instant recognition fell between them and he expressively relaxed just as Gon charges his fist and Killua reaching for his yo-yo.

"You're one of the ogres from the village!" Emma lowers her rifle and steps forward, passing between the boys who looked at her wide-eyed. "Do you remember me?"

The ogre nodded, a silent type among his group, he directed his wary look towards Gon and Killua.

"These are my friends. Don't worry, you can trust them," Emma vouches for the boys who calmed down at her non-hostile conversing with the monster. "We saw your village just now. What happened? Are the chief and his son alright?"

A dispassionate glare, not at Emma, but at some foe he sees in his mind that did him and his people wrong. Without a word, he turned around. A slight move to his head that pointed down a path as he looked at Emma, silently requesting her to follow. She did so, looking back at Gon and Killua. The boys regarded each other for a moment before following after her.

Minutes of walking, they arrived at a camp in the middle of a forest. Tents were put up and several tools lay about. At least fifteen ogres, some males and females with their children were present. Although all held a strong front, their appearance was weary from battle and blood, scratches and wounds.

"Emma?"

Emma turned her head at a young boyish voice. His shaggy red hair bounces as the known ogre child ran up to her, "Emma! You're back!"

A beaming show of Emma's smile to see the son of the ogre chief again, they grabbed hands in a re-welcoming hold, she would have thought to say his name out of happiness, but remembered that he did not have a personal name, "You're here! I saw your village, I'm so glad to see you're alright!"

Though his seeming enthusiastic nod at her statement, Emma could tell by looking into his eyes. He had suffered somehow, though he looks fine physically, he was hurting in other ways.

Emma looked around, seeing only the common ogres she had the pleasure of eating with from her last visit to their village when it was still well-structured, "Where's your dad?"

The joyous front fell, a soft frown as his eyes lowered. Emma's smile left her at his downed face, a tentative prodding to her gut. She gently squeezed her hold of his hands, "What happened?"

"We..." He began with a slow breath, "We were challenged."

"Challenged?"

The ogre child's face darkens at a memory, "By a competitor."

/.\

"Do you think Emma will come by today, dad?" The child ogre wondered, the hide of the Frenzy Boar he wore over his shoulders, a gift Emma had left him with. He sat in his home, carving another stone to make new arrowheads. He preferred it to be done by his hands, and he felt pleased to see the result of his own work, and future chief of the village should know how to rely on oneself before his people would trust to rely on him.

"Perhaps not, little one," the chief told him. He sat not too far from his son, upon a round carpet rug at the center of their home, "She might be out seeking more game. If she was unable to capture the Banana Fish, she'll likely want to find other beasts as quickly as possible."

"But she said she would visit us as soon as she can. It's only about a few hours from the lake, it shouldn't have taken her any longer to get back."

"Thoughts can change with time and circumstances. There is only a handful of days left until this event closes, she might have decided it was better to resume her hunt without any delay."

There was also a chance that she could have been killed, but not wanting to upset his child, the ogre chief withheld his thoughts. The chief was aware of what transpired the day before, word of competitors coming into the fray of this unforgiving forest, and various beasts were slain. It was likely that Emma had been caught up with it. He trusted Emma's ability to cope with the environment, however, and with his guiding advice and the Monster Tracker he gave her, she should be fine and active somewhere. She is a bright child, she will know how to look after herself.

"Well, I'm not giving up!" The ogre child triumphally said. "She promised she'll visit us again, so I'm gonna trust her word until the very last day!" He finishes smoothing one side of the stone with a final scrape using his rough hunting knife.

The ogre chief smiles, "You truly want for her return, don't you?"

"Uhuh! I want to give her something," the ogre child turns the stone to its other side and begins to carve that as well. "I want to show her my appreciation for saving me. It's also a really nice thing that she gave me this hide, so I'm gonna make her the best arrowheads with enchanted magic in them. She's really kind. Are other humans just as kind as her?"

"Not all, certainly not all," the ogre chief answered. "Arrowheads you say? So that's what you've been working on since she left."

"Yeah, but this is really just for the hide," he reaches for the bag that lay beside him. "When she gets back, I'm gonna give her this too."

He takes out a thin, rectangular item and shows it to his father.

"I see." Another smile from the adult ogre, "Yes, if she is to pass the preliminary, she may need _that_, and if it is not used in this event, then it will prove useful for when she officially enters the Competition Between Worlds. It's rather generous of you, an appropriate gift that shows your support for her success. Personally, the arrowheads are a more fitting present, since it is a gift made by your own hands. I'm sure she will appreciate those just as much as your other gift."

He pats the boy's head, the ogre child felt annoyance at the ruffled grasp that messed his hair much more than the ogre child liked.

"Appreciate your new friend while she is still with us in this dimension," the ogre chief advised his son, "Once the preliminary is over, she will either return to her world, or will move on to face even greater challenges that await for all competitors."

Rapid footsteps reach their doorsteps, "Chief! Someone has entered our village!"

The ogre child's head perked up under his father's hand, "Is it Emma? Is she back?" He tries to stand up but his father kept him seated. The ogre chief's eyes narrowed at the tone of urgency his messaged warrior is speaking in.

"Not her. This is another competitor. A man," a dark foreboding glare from the ogre guard, "This man... He has not come with good intent. He has already fought and defeated several of our warriors. This... creature, he has come for blood."

The chief frowned deeply, rising to his feet, "Little one, stay here."

He knew, in his heart, he had long suspected for this to happen. In a way, it was inevitable. No matter how deep in this forest they hid within, in this event, they are just as susceptible to being hunted as every other monster in this forest and everywhere outside of it.

The ogre child looked at him. He had only ever seen that look in his father's eyes. A grave matter was at hand, a sinking pit in his stomach.

"No matter what, little one. Stay inside. I will return," a smile to appease the worry of his child, the ogre chief added. "Take heed my son, we all knew this day would come, be it either other monsters or man."

His gentle smile dimmed into a melancholy, his eyes steeled to unsheathe his warrior spirit, audacity, and strength. "Some humans can be kind, but they are as frequent as those who are more wicked than our own monstrosity."

A word of wisdom from father to child, this, was the last time they've spoken to each other.

/.\

"...The chief went to confront the competitor. I got curious so I disobeyed him telling me to stay, and went to see behind the crowd. I saw the competitor and... For a moment, all of us thought that he was a monster like us."

He was human, but his appearance and physique was more monster than man, that they mistook him as one of their own. A being of wild, blood-red hair, and a back that marred into the souls for its vicious face-shaped through his tight black shirt by his tough muscles that a weakly thrown fist would break upon contact.

A cruel, wide grin of clear white teeth, like baring fangs as the new King of this Jungle he decides to crown himself as, as through his laughing arrogance called for an audience of the chief, and demand direct combat not only one, but all of the ogres.

They thought him mad, an arrogant fool who allowed himself to induce anger from the ogres, but his power was no mere show. He had defeated and beaten to a bloody pulp their best warriors, some embedded on the ground, never to rise again.

He was human, but he undoubtedly lacked that trait called humanity.

And for a mere human to defeat their strongest warrior; their chief, his father. He was a true monster.

They had believed him to be another ogre. An _ogre_ with strength on par. An Ogre at every sense of the word.

And he had dared to call the real Ogres here weaklings.

"He... He beat the chief..." his reference of his father now reverts to simply chief, biting down the grief in his throat, "I never knew a human could be so strong. Strong enough to fight the chief barehanded. They broke through houses, and there was a lot of blood. A fire broke out by accident."

That was when everything spiraled out of control. To put out the fires was futile while the fierce brawling of fists and spear blades crossed takes up the entire village. In the child ogre's own struggle to put out the fires while he had his eyes on his father's desperate fight against the competitor, a chunk of the burning wood from the house had hit his back. He left with barely any injuries, resistant to the fire. His gift given by Emma was not as fortunate, the hide had quickly caught aflame and burnt black.

"One of the chief's closest friends finally noticed me and got me out of there. It was getting so bad, that the chief ordered us to run away."

His eyes wavered, "We all ran into the forest, and after a while, one of the ogres that remained behind got back to us. He told us what happened... The chief... he..."

He could not say, and yet, that was enough to tell. Emma was distraught. The chief, that kind person who offered her a place of rest, food, companionship. Her heart was pained with shock and deep sorrow.

She felt her fingers tighten by his sudden clutch, but endured it as she listens to him more. "Some of the ogres who stayed behind the village tried to attack that competitor to avenge the chief, but he beat them all too and left. After that, one of our scouts who went back to the village saw a group of other monsters come by - they were from the Boar clan. They must have noticed the smoke from the fire and smelled all the blood. They took the bodies for food and some of our people went to fight them for our fallen warriors."

A sternness in his youthful features, "It was a terrible battle, we lost more of our clan that morning. I had to make the call for the rest of us to retreat. The Boar clan was too strong for us in our state, and... I didn't want any more of our people to die."

His arms trembled slightly, "I was... too weak to fight with them."

"I... I'm so sorry," Emma uttered with a soft voice, agonized. "I should have been here sooner. If I did I would have-"

"Honestly, I'm glad you didn't," the ogre child interjects. "That guy, he wasn't just any human. He really was like a monster. If you think beating my father sounded bad, I'm pretty sure he would have killed you with a single hit," closing his eyes briefly as he gentles his grip of her hands, the child ogre smiled sadly.

"It's alright. We ogres have our belief to die as proud warriors, my dad went out fighting with the strongest opponent he had ever come across. We don't go looking for fights, but it was the best way to go out, and with all of us rallying behind him. We all knew, in this competition, that there would have been a competitor who would come for us. We were prepared for this to happen."

"That doesn't make it okay!" Emma told him. "You didn't deserve what happened! All that, and what happened after! What you and the others went through, your own dad-!"

Her arms shook with building anger. Why? Why would someone do this? Putting aside that it was a single human man who defeated a group of these strong ogres, why did it happen? Why were they killed? Was this competitor so desperate for the wish that they would kill non-hostiles? It doesn't make sense. Why would the competitor attack the ogres? It wouldn't have been allowed to take more than one piece of the same monster, fighting all of them was completely unnecessary and they were merely people living in peace!

"Emma! It's okay!"

She looked back at the child ogre in surprise. The sadness in his expression went away, assuring her with certainty. "The competitor challenged my father, he taunted the chief's pride. My father could have turned down the challenge, but that would go against everything we are. He always told me that we have to live and die with our choices, he made his, he knew what would happen if he lost. If it means defending his honor and pride as a true ogre, then that's what it means to be a warrior. Believe me, I'm angry. I'm really angry. I want to go find that guy and get him to pay what he did. But... I can't afford to do that now."

Releasing her hands, he looked at his people who sat around the campfires and tents, "As the new chief, I have to take responsibility and focus on the well-being of my clan than revenge. Besides, if he could beat my father, I don't have a chance at all."

"Perhaps not, chief."

The three human children were startled at the sudden voice of the silent ogre. "What the-?! He actually talks!" Killua shouted, the first to say something while Emma and the ogre child spoke. He had been listening quietly, muting any feelings for what happened to the ogres here. Gon, on the other hand, was obviously showing signs of fury. It seems he too felt the same way as Emma, although he did not know these ogres personally, since Emma knew them, Gon felt obligated to sympathize with their pain and feel anger for the person that caused it.

"You are still a young boy. You have your father's hearts, but an ogre chief must have the strength of twenty of his people. We are all ready to accept you and follow your word as our new chief, but you must prove yourself to have the strength to carry the whole village on your back."

He eyed the children, "Perhaps we could-"

"Stop!" The ogre child immediately cuts him off. "Emma is our friend. Furthermore, this is the human girl who saved my life. That last thing I would owe her with is a favor! One that would jeopardize her standing in this competition!"

"What? What is it?" Emma asked gently. Was there something they could do to help?

"No. Forget it. It'll affect you and your standing as a competitor," the ogre child warned. "I won't do that to you."

Emma was unfettered by his warning, "If it'll help you, then please, I want to know."

He tried to deny her again but she was unmoved, Gon joined her side, "If it's something we can do too, then I want to help also."

The ogre child blinked at the boy, finally acknowledging his presence, "Uh... who are you?"

"I'm Gon! This is Killua. We're friends of Emma."

"Are you... other competitors?"

He nodded, "We are. We met Emma while we were hunting for the Banana Fish. We both ended up catching it and that's how we met."

It was probably best to skim over the act of him accidentally pulling her and fishing her out of the water, "We all decided to share the fish between us, and helped us when we ran into a competitor that attacked us. She's been a great person to be around with. If you're a friend of Emma too, then I want to do what I can to help you guys out!"

Killua scratches his head as he too walks up to Emma's side, relenting as soon as Gon stepped up and offered that unsurprising proposal he obviously should have expected. Seeing them waiting for his eventual answer, the ogre child stubbornly sticks to his word until his eyes fell upon his remaining clan, softening at the state they were all in.

"...Okay. There is a way that you and your friends might be able to help us. But it's your decision if you want to do it or not!"

With a deep breath, the child ogre then asked them, "Do you guys have any stars on you?"

_Oh. I see where this is going..._ Killua immediately understood. Of course, he had to suspect something like this would happen.

"Yes. Why?" Without hesitation, Emma answered honestly.

An uncertain pause, the ogre child then said, "Do you guys know exactly what those stars are?"

At their confused looks, he began to explain, "Those aren't just ordinary stars. They actually hold magical properties."

"Magical?" Emma raised her hand over her vest pocket that hides her patch and its stars.

The ogre child nodded, "They don't really do much by itself. It's not like they can give you super strength or heal you of any injuries. But if you know how to use them in a certain way, they can provide a lot of power. Mages especially would know how to channel the magical energy those stars carry."

He intertwined his fingers in a nervous sort of hold, "Remember when I told you that monsters like us ogres don't have names? Well, the truth is, we don't have names because it would take a lot of power to give us one. Monsters like us are driven by magic, not like with humans where they can easily give each other names and not have to expend so much of themselves. Giving us names would be like giving us power, it would be like... we're evolving, in a way. We can't name ourselves because we don't have enough power for that, and for anyone else to do so, if they can pull it off without exhausting themselves to the brink of death, we would see them as someone strong enough to call masters."

He looked at them, "It's not the same for every monster groups, but this is how it is for us. Someone with a lot of magic could probably be able to name only a few of us, while someone like you, who don't even know magic, would probably die on the spot if you give just one of us a name. But your stars could have enough power to grant me not only a name, but also the strength to lead my clan."

Such a baffling fact that Emma and Gon quietly gasped. To think that a name, aside from its meaningful existence, would have such a weight of importance that it would represent rankings like it was some kind of hierarchy. Emma always knew names was a special thing to have, even though it was so common among her family that she didn't think too much about it, but for these monsters, it was like a privilege to bear a name that only the truly worthy could uphold.

It led her to think back how in stories or in that video game Ray once played, nearly all monsters that were introduced only carry the identity of their race, not a personal identity. They were only passing obstacles for the true character with their own names to overcome and move on. That the monsters in those stories were so unimportant to the overall plot aside from being something meant to be defeated, that they would not be given names so that the reader would not get attached, get to know, not meant to be remembered. Even the Nameless Man was called "Mister" by her. To give names would be to give acknowledgment of the named as a person.

"How many stars do you need?"

The ogre child's eyes widened, his mouth parted to speak.

"Hey, Emma. Can we talk for a moment?"

Killua suddenly spoke, calling Emma and ushering Gon aside. A wondering glance, Emma excused herself and followed Killua far from the ogre's earshot.

"You're thinking of giving him the stars. Aren't you?"

Emma stared at Killua, and her expression turned surprised, "Oh! Don't worry! I won't ask you guys to give up your stars. I know that you worked really hard getting those."

"Then you're willing to give him your stars? What if he wants more than just those two?"

Emma patted the spot where her patch is as she answered simply, "Then I'll have to go and hunt for some more."

"We just went through the forest a while ago," Killua reminded, "There haven't been any monsters before we came here. There might be some we could find if we kept looking, but even that probably won't be so easy. You only have three days left to have five stars ready."

"Then I'll just have to hurry and try!" Emma said determinedly.

The blue-eyed assassin regarded her quietly for a moment, "Emma, you know these guys aren't real, right?"

She blinked at him, "Not... real? What do you mean?"

"They're NPCs, you know what that means, don't you?"

Emma recalled, "Y-yeah. Non-Participating Combatants."

"It also means Non-Playable Characters in video games._ Characters_. They're not actually _real_ people," Killua explained. "The ogres are characters this competition generated to test us and see if we're willing to give them something while still pushing through to pass this event. You can say it's almost like a trap made to hinder our progress. Yeah, those ogres do act real, I got to give this place credit for giving us pretty convincing side-characters, but that's all they are. It's fine if you don't give them your stars, I just want to make sure that you don't feel obligated that you have to."

His arm outstretched, he patted her shoulder, "You only got two stars, and if we keep the six stars we got from that guy, you just only need one more star and you'd be already set. Just so long as you make sure not to fall for this kind of scenario. It's _just_ a scenario. We're in a competition, but it's also like we're in a video game, the only thing is you and the rest of the competitors like me and Gon are real, you don't need to take these NPCs so seriously."

It reminded Killua of how it was in Greed Island, there were characters there that were generated through Nen, made entirely out of aura; acted and looked like people, but were more like machines who can only respond to certain questions or speech topics, and were mainly there to help players progress and fill in the game with the illusion of life of active citizens that a majority of players made up for.

These generated characters in this preliminary, in comparison, were impressively more realistic, but it doesn't change what they are, and he wants to make sure that this girl understands that, otherwise it would just be a sorry sight that she would believe she's doing a good deed, when it's really just a generated scene that can cost her her own stars and standing in this competition she's here for the sake of her family.

"Usually in video games, if you give up something important on you, or any other item, that person you gave to might give something back, something that could be useful to help you advance in this competition, but with the time that you have now, it's not worth the risk. You need to look after yourself, Emma."

Taking in Killua's words, comprehending his spoken advice, Emma looked down in contemplation. "I see... I actually forgot that they were that kind of NPCs. Thank you Killua, I really appreciate you looking out for me."

Killua shrugged, "Yeah, well, I guess I would feel kind of bad if someone didn't tell you." That and it looks like even Gon was falling for this scenario, he _had _to say something.

"But even so, I still see them as real people."

Gon looked at her with surprised eyes. Killua choked in his own gagged shock. "What?!"

"It doesn't matter if they're generated by this competition or whatever. They need help, and I want to help them!" Her cheeks puffed at her proclamation, holding her chin high.

"H-hey! I just told you! You don't have to feel sorry for them!" Killua emphasized, "You know they're not real!"

"I want to help them anyway!" Emma firmly stated.

"Why would you-?! Are you an idiot!? They're probably not even gonna stick around after the preliminary is over!" In pretense, the ogres and all other of the NPCs will likely vanish after fulfilling their roles here, and the competition will resume elsewhere. "It won't make a difference if you help them or not! It literally doesn't matter!"

"Well it matters to me and that's what's important!"

"What kind of excuse is that?! Did you forget to bring a brain?!"

A laugh broke through the argued children. Gon chuckled behind his teeth. "Come on Killua. Let Emma do what she wants," his laughter dying down, he added, "We should help too."

"HUH?!" Killua shouted at his smiling friend. "Don't tell me you're really falling for this too?!"

"I mean, isn't it normal wanting to help people who need it?" Gon countered, a weak argument in the assassin's ears, a probable blame to Emma's earlier statement of helping others just because. "Plus, we do have these extra stars."

He takes out the patch that belonged to the wolfish competitor.

"Are you serious?!" Killua demanded from him.

Emma looked at Gon in shock. "Are you sure? What if you still need them?"

"We only need two more stars for us. It won't be that hard," Gon looked down on the patch, "I know this isn't ours, if anything, I would want to give the ogres a few of my stars if they needed it, but if it turns out that they need more, then maybe this is the best way."

He looked back at her, "I want all of us to get through this event, if using that guy's patch means that we can keep our stars safe and still leave us a chance to collect five stars before the end of the week, then let's do it."

Emma was taken aback by his encouragement, second-guessing herself when he brought out the patch.

"It'll be fine!" Gon said, "That guy is probably already looking for more stars, and besides, your friends need these right now."

Though Emma was still unsure, seeing how willing Gon was to give her this, she tentatively takes the patch, willing to join his contribution together. A rosy-cheek smile that Gon was proud to incur. "Gon... Thank you. I swear, I'm gonna help you guys get more stars after this!"

"Come on! Think about it!" Killua told them. Emma held the patch closely, her mind set on this.

"I already did and I decided I'm going to help them anyway!" She boldly declared. "We should all help out! You're not obligated to, of course, but I stand by what I said!"

Gon smiled, "Yeah! Let's do it!"

They pumped their arms up and faced the assassin, her puckered face and his cheeky grin. Killua was outnumbered from two to one, leaving him to feel like he is the only sane person around, and he was the one who lived what was considered an abnormal life.

"Oh for-" He scratched his head, he had to deal with Gon's stubbornness on a daily, but_ two _of them? There was no winning. Any resistance is futile. He sighed deeply, "Guess I got no other choice."

A cheer, Emma and Gon clapped the hands of each other. Killua lets out a small smile. "Say..."

The boys looked at Emma who spoke, "If it's true that all the monsters don't have names, I wonder..."

_I already don't like where her thoughts are going_, Killua felt an impending sense of goody-goody from the girl, and he had to fight to hold back another large sigh.

They made another brief discussion, and returned to the patiently waiting, new ogre chief. "If you guys have second thoughts, I'll understand," the ogre child told them.

Emma paused, looking back at Gon and Killua. Gon encouraged her with a nod, and she felt comforted. "Before that... how many stars would it take to name all of your clan?"

The ogre child's eyes widened, his little jaw dropped as if to touch the floor with his chin. The quiet guard beside him revealed a widened expression of similar shock, stunned to even more silence.

"A-All of us!?" The ogre child repeated. "Wha-?! ALL OF US?!"

The ogres in the camp stopped when they heard his shout, blushing cheeks for his unrestrained burst of his open shock. He quickly quieted to a whisper, "E-Emma! Th-that's-!"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't get your hopes up," Emma said, "But I want to make sure if it was possible that I could name all of your clan. Would it be possible?"

"I-I... Uh..." The ogre child fumbled. "I-it's... It's not _im_possible, b-but that would mean that you would need more stars than it would take just to name me!"

"How many?" She asked again. Her gaze serious.

Seeing her firm expression, the ogre child was at a loss for words until the silent bodyguard ushered him with a tap of his shoulder, bringing the young one back to awareness. He looks down in thought, then back at the awaiting girl who looks to be ready to do everything in the world for him. He was moved by the dedication, added to the agreeing interest that was shared among her friends that stand beside her.

He bit his own lip in disconcertment, he takes another glance at their willing expression, "...If it was just me, it would take two stars."

Emma blinked, that honestly didn't sound so many. It was true that that was the same amount she had on her, and while giving it away would have left her back to square one, if it was to help her friend, then she would do it and rush to retrieve those stars elsewhere and collect the rest.

"If it's for the whole village," the ogre child resumed, "That would take..."

He started counting his fingers until his bodyguard leaned in and whispered his own calculations. A grave look about the ogre child, "...It would take five stars to name our whole village."

An even more surprising reveal that took Emma and Gon off-guard, still far less than what they were expecting. Killua was less so as surprised. If this was a scenario that works to test the competitor's willingness to sacrifice their standing in the preliminary, then of course, the ogre child-chief's answer would be to request the number of stars that are_ required_ to pass the preliminary. A pretty typical case in most video games.

"Just five stars?" Emma said, confused as to how he came to that number, not reaching the same conclusion as Killua as she was not familiar with video games as he was.

"Since I'm the ogre chief, and still young, it might not seem a lot, but channeling two of those gold stars would give enough power to give me a name, grant me strength and additional abilities, skills, I'll probably get taller, a lot of other things," he explained. "Those stars carry a lot of power. Just a tip of it would probably be enough to name one regular ogre of our clan. There's a lot of us, so if you _really _are serious about naming every one of us, then that would take the combining power of five stars."

"These stars we have, they're that powerful?" Gon asked.

The ogre child nodded, "Some might even say that they're more than just magic, they have... an otherworldly kind of power. Power that not even our great mages among us can understand. There's not a lot we know about them, other than yeah, they are_ really_ powerful, filled with like maybe a huge amount of energy. If I hadn't been promoted to chief, I probably would have only needed one star with plenty of its magic to spare and for me to hone."

His face scrunched, "But I know that's too much. Even if you have five complete stars already, that would leave you guys at a disadvantage. It would be too hard to get back all those stars before the preliminary ends."

"Why? Aren't there still wild monsters in this jungle?" Killua asked.

The ogre chief shook his head, "Not as much as before. It's practically vacant of all wild monsters since yesterday, I had one of my scouts told me just now before you guys showed up that almost every monster here has been hunted. There are still other monster clans like ours that are still standing, probably because we're mainly well hidden or some competitors decided to spare them. I wouldn't recommend attacking them either way. Forget that they're large in numbers, they're just other clans like ours living their lives in peace."

The ogre child-chief understood, even if they were desperate, they would not go so far as to terrorize other peace-living villages. Well, except for the Orcs and the Boar clan, but he definitely wouldn't recommend fighting them. Some of the members there are innocent, so it would be unjustified to kill mere civilians and children around his age, and furthermore, that joined clans held a massive army. These three competitors alone cannot be enough to faze even one-quarter of their army - especially the Orc Lord and the Boar God Nago.

"Hold on, you say that this forest is practically vacant of all wild monsters," reaching for his backpack, Killua pulls out a paper. "What about this monster?"

He gives the Challenge List of the monster he and Gon have entered this forest to look for. The ogre child looked over the sheet, a blank reaction. "...I think it should be obvious with this big red X over it."

"Huh?" Retrieving the paper, Killua and Gon looked over it. "WHAT?!"

Emma hurried over to look for herself, on the paper was a drawn picture of what looks to be a grounded, bat-like creature with dark fur and a small yet piercing face, and upon the drawn picture was a red X that the boys were certain was never there before, and all information that was previously written there describing the beast and hint of its whereabouts, led to a simple, short sentence.

**_This monster is no longer available in forest areas. Seek elsewhere._**

"Y-you guys didn't notice this before?" Emma asked them. Killua rubbed his head.

"I guess this is what you call a "magic paper," giving us an update of the state of the monster we were hunting for," convenient, and also disheartening, Killua breathed out, "So there really is a limit of monsters we can only hunt. Looks like our trip here was a total waste."

"Then we'll have to look for another Challenge List," Gon said simply.

"You're probably not going to find any around here," the ogre child told them. "Your best bet would be at another place. Ask another village lived by humans, they might tell you something."

Killua nodded, "Guess we'll do that after we're done here."

The ogre child frowned, "You can't just give up that many stars. I want the best for my clan more than anything, but I can't take advantage of you guys, especially you Emma. Do you even have five stars?"

"Not five, but we do have six," Killua stated, looking at Emma. Taking cue, she showed the six-stars patch. The ogre child's eyes widened before he shook his head.

"Then that'll leave you with only one star."

"It's okay, me, Emma, and Killua have our three other stars," Gon assured. If only one star is left from this patch of six stars, then that single star will be given to Emma, this was the agreement Gon made with Killua and Emma. Soft gratitude in Emma's eyes at their acceptance to help the ogres, a single first meeting and yet, they would give up these extra stars just so Emma would not risk herself of wasting any more time.

She owed it to them. Emma decided then, she will help these boys achieve the stars they need left, and together pass the preliminary.

The ogre child could hardly believe it, his round eyes widening, "You must have worked so hard to get that many stars!"

"Not really... it's kind of a long story," Gon said. "It'll be fine. If me, Killua, and Emma work together, we would only need to hunt two more monsters, and share it between us."

The ogre child looked at the patch, "...Are you guys... sure? You're really serious?"

He looked at Emma and saw her kind smile, "Don't worry. We'll make it through! I'm gonna make sure that Gon, Killua and I will win this event. It's a promise!"

Gon smiled at her way while Killua shrugged. "So? You gonna take them or not?" The assassin asked.

Another stunned regard by the child ogre, he stared at the outstretched hand carrying the glimmering gold stars. A slow and hesitating reach, his fingers touched the patch. In his eyes, a shimmer of his built-up tears he vigorously fought to hold back, rubbing his eyes with his arm. "...Emma, Gon, Killua. I swear... I am never going to forget this."

With a deep breath, the ogre child looks to the other clan members, "Mage! I need you here!"

What came was an old-looking, ogre male in velvet robes and horns above his long white brows. The ogre child offered a brief explanation, and the old ogre, with eyes that widened in shock and immense celebration as if dancing inside his heart, nodded calmly. "It shall be done, young chief."

Soon, word spread among the remaining ogre clan. Their shock was apparent, the idea of someone with their monsterhood would be able to obtain a personal reference of their individual identity, it was only something that can only be dreamed of, it was something they had all been ready to accept will never happen for the rest of their life.

"First," the old ogre mage began, "Before I channel the power from these stars, the names for each and every one of us must be given by one of you children."

He referred to Gon, Killua, and Emma. "Once the ritual begins, you will have your chance to name first the chief, and then all of us afterward. We will all face an evolutionary change, and if the ritual is a success, then..."

The ogre child-chief bowed his head to the other children, "We the ogres will offer you our absolute service and loyalty. Ask anything from us and by my word as chief, you will receive it."

"O-oh! That's okay! You don't have to go that far!" Emma insisted, waving her hands to deny the overly generous word of servitude. "We're just happy to help!"

"Nope! I won't accept that!" The ogre child responded firmly. "You're willing to go this far for us, so we'll go as far for you! I'm not taking a No for an answer!"

"O-okay..." Emma conceded to calm the enthusiastic ogre child. "I'll... I'll think of something later."

Killua smirked at her feeble reaction and looked over the awaiting crowd wearing their curiosity and faint show of eagerness. "There really is a lot of ogres. Have you thought up a name for all of them, Emma?"

Gon stepped up, "We'll help you! Since the chief is your friend, you can name him first, we can take turns naming the rest. Okay?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. I've actually thought up several names, but I still need to think about it. Names shouldn't be given without thought," Emma said before entering deep in her thoughts. A name for her friend the ogre child, what name shall she give him?

"The ritual is ready," the old ogre mage returns, he directs the children to a wide, circular drawing with several unknown symbols upon it, drawn in blue chalk of mystical proportions.

"Young ones, go and stand in front of the circle, the first ogre will stand inside it. Once I channel the five stars," he holds out the five given gold badges in his wrinkled hand, "Then you may give whatever name you like."

The children looked amongst each other, a nod of readiness between them. Walking towards the ritual, Emma walked with the ogre child-chief, he stood upon the ritual, doing his best not to show excitement in his puffed-cheek face. Gon and Killua stood behind Emma, and waited until the ritual began.

The old ogre mage closed his eyes, standing near the children, he muttered softly spoken words only the ogres could understand. In his hand, the gold stars began to glow, a powerful like energy surrounds his palm. In the midst of his incantation, the ritual circle started to light up in an aura of blue. Emma and Gon watched the process in marvel. Killua watched with calm intrigue.

"Now. You may offer our chief a name."

At the old ogre's discretion, Emma considered. A name is precious, so she should not give it so idly. She thought about it, a name that should fit well with the ogre child, her friend.

Looking back at him, observing his features that regarded her with patience, his round puffed cheeks had her reminded of a small and gentle girl, her smile that could bring happiness to all, her endearing kind personality, and with her that favorite stuffed doll in arms.

She had her idea of a name then, "From now on, your name is... Connor."

A brilliant light ignited from the ritual, and the child ogre was enveloped by it. Emma watched with awe as the child ogre's form suddenly began to shift, and he grew. Taller and taller. When the light dimmed, the child ogre was one no more.

A transformation, an adult figure stood in place, an appearance that was near uncanny to his father and previous chief. His hair was a darker shade, his leather armor now leather and steel, with an elegant silk violet robe underneath. His baby fangs were gone, and the single horn on his head turned to three, but his face looked all the more human with gentle, earthy brown eyes. No longer a feeble-looking body, he was built with slim muscles fitting of a strong warrior.

"Whoa!" Gon yelled, even Killua was mildly surprised.

Emma's jaw hanged low, "You... You really did get taller!" And older. Is this how monsters age? All from the simple act of being given a name?

"Connor..." The no-longer-child ogre? said in a deep voice, "I like it. From now on, I am Chief Connor; Leader of this Clan."

He offered his hand. Emma gently grabs it, her hand now tiny in his, "Thank you Emma. I will never forget this for as long as I live."

_Or at least until the end of the week_, Killua cynically thought to himself.

Holding her little hand, the newly grown ogre chief looked to his people who eyed him in amazement, he spoke to them in a resounding voice, a fitting speaker of a natural-born leader, "Come one at a time. Today, the Ogre clan will rebuild. From our blood and grief, we shall stand stronger than before; as Kijins!"

The ogres cheer reached the very blue sky.

* * *

**Participating Competitors:**

**_Edward and Alphonse (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)_**

**_Lina Inverse (Slayers)_**

**A/N: I decided to cut the chapter in half so not to overwhelm with so much information. This chapter will now be called Ogre Among All Ogres. Next chapter will be the other half and will be titled as this chapter originally was. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day!**

**Please leave a kind and honest review.**


	6. At the Tip of His Fingers, Awaits Death

Chapter 6: At the Tip of His Fingers, Awaits Death

Half an hour later, the three young competitors finally named the last remaining clan member. An ogre who looked to his teens, his form surrounds in a light that flashed from the ritual one last time, and what came was another successful transformation. The teen ogre changed into a much older, much muscular figure in red silk under tough scale-like armor, barefooted and steel braces over his calves and biceps. Such a drastic change that continues to take Emma by surprise no matter how constant she has seen this evolution.

The ogre camp had expanded not in increasing numbers but in increasing physique and changed species. A crowd of evolved ogres - now called Kijin - with more human features and unrestrained smiles as they chatted amongst themselves, a celebratory clank between wooden sake cups that dripped delicious fruit-flavored liquor. Emma and Gon immediately began to parch for anything to soothe their dried throats that were used consistently with every name given to each of the surviving clan members. They were both grateful and eager when Killua came back with three small canteens filled with water, and happily drank away their sore throats in delight.

"I cannot thank you and your friends enough, Emma," the kijin chief Connor said. The children competitors sat in front of him as the kijins celebrated all around them. It was an appalling sight for Emma to speak with what was no older than her a while ago, now as if she was speaking to the previous chief, and felt a close need to apologize.

"I'm sure my father would be at better peace to know that our clan will prosper beyond our losses," the chief added as if to ease the sorrow in Emma's heart he could see as clear as day, his Perception skills truly honed. "You have earned the Kijins loyalty. From now on, whatever you need of us, we shall answer."

"That's really kind of you," Emma thanked him, "But you should focus on rebuilding your village, you don't need to worry about us."

"I understand though that you are still in need of gold stars, yes?"

The children nodded. "Just two more stars, maybe more just to be on the safe side," Killua told.

"If it were monsters in this forest, we would have given the best available spots we know. But as I told before, there are not as many wild monsters roaming in the jungle, likely the remaining ones are in hiding or have left the forest entirely. Unfortunately, we know nothing of other plains and monsters outside this territory. We've heard rumors but nothing certain and beyond small things. However..."

He rested his arm over his raised knee, the flat of his foot pressed against the ground, "There is one place that I am sure all monsters have heard. It is a place where wild creatures reign entirely, endless of them, and it is known only amongst us Monster clans, you will not find this info from any human village. It's existence and location is hidden from human knowledge. Our oldest of old stories even tells us that that's where our ancestors - the first ogres, originated from before we migrated into this forest."

Leaning forward slightly, the ogre chief uttered the name of this mythical place: "**Beast Valley**. It is a canyon where all monsters in this world are born from."

_This preliminary really loves hamming lore just so this event would feel more immersive_, Killua thought sarcastically. Emma and Gon, however, were incredibly taken by the ogre chief's story, listening closely with every intent.

"Even the best of human adventurers do not know this place," kijin chief Connor added before a thought came to him, "although, I have heard some stories of being found by the brightest of humans. But even if they do manage to find it and enter, rarely do any visitor leave that place, and never seen again. Wild monsters not only roams, but traps naturally implanted by nature itself, flowers and naturally grown food laced with poison, even the air if you chose the wrong path, will be sucked from you entirely, or crush you with its intense pressure."

Terrible ordeal, in general, is what awaits at this hidden location. Emma remained brave as she hears the dangerous descriptions.

"I'm sorry to say that I do not know what exactly lies within Beast Valley. I've never personally seen it, neither did my father. Only our great ancestors have witnessed it, had lived in it, and passed on information of what was seen. That was a long time ago, I don't know how much has changed since then. Even for us Monsters, it is a legend. We know of its whereabouts, but not its access, it is up to you seek its entrance."

His face grew grim, "While I have not seen Beast Valley, it is surely a dangerous place, but if you wish to hunt wild monsters, then that place will most certainly provide you of more than some. However, there is a chance you could still find other wild monsters in other areas you will find easier to adjust and understand its terrain beforehand by nearby human villages, but with the time that you have, and if the other areas are also vacant of most monsters, if you wish to hurry and accomplish your goal, then this is the place."

His eyes narrowed, "Do you intend to travel there?"

The three young competitors sent looks of consideration to each other. Emma was determined to go, but she wanted to hear the thoughts of the boys with her.

"What do you think?" Gon asked Killua.

The other boy shrugged and looked at Emma, "If you're serious about helping us this far, then we might be able to find this place with your tracker."

"You still have the gift dad gave you?" A hint of his child-self slipping through at the mention of his father. Emma nodded at the kijin chief. She reached in her vest pockets and revealed the red and black device.

The kijin chief smiled at the item, now a memento this child will carry throughout her journey. "Yes, with that on you, you will most certainly find Beast Valley. Even in the midst of unfamiliar territory, without a doubt that device will guide you and help you avoid carelessly crossing dangerous, unknown creatures and deadly traps."

Emma held the tracker tenderly with both hands, she prayed in gratitude to the previous chief.

"Then we shall prepare you enough supplies to sustain you for the rest of your travel. Please, anything you need, and we shall give, even our men if you require them."

"We'll be fine on our own," Gon reassured the kijin. "Like Emma said, you need to focus on your village. We'll definitely find Beast Valley and get our stars!"

Emma nodded assertively to Gon's words. "You don't need to feel like you owe us anything," She said. "Your clan should stick together and heal. We'll handle everything on our own."

A trusting quality in her eyes that while the kijin chief wanted to press further, her unwavering words and point to his new duty as kijin chief had him stayed. He nodded in understanding, "Then I will pray for your triumph in your journey, my friends."

They began putting together their much need supplies. According to the kijin chief, it will take the children a day to reach Beast Valley, so they were given more than enough food and water to last them longer than that. Even when they do reach Beast Valley, it would be considered too reckless to eat unknown natural produce grown in that place that could be potentially lethal at a single bite. Gon did not worry as his nose could pick up such poisonous toxins with his impressive sniff and Killua being immune to poison. Together, they will look out for Emma while Emma continues her role as their leading guide.

It was somewhat difficult to supply themselves, not that the kijins were not so generous, but because of the children's kind action, they were overwhelming the children with gifts and even prized possessions that frankly treat them more like gods than honored guests, neither Emma or Killua found this flattering. Emma was baffled by all the gifts and food that were simply too much for all three of them to carry, even though for Gon and Killua they were strong enough to carry the heavy weight just fine, it was just a matter of practicality. She and Gon had to politely decline the excessive giving frequently.

"The area where you may find Beast Valley is here, far west-north from this village and to this mountain," kijin chief Connor points to the drawn map on a sandy-colored paper, a general description of the hidden destination. "You will likely not spot it at first glance, you will have to investigate the area thoroughly. What I remember the old stories of our ancestors was that there was a cave around here, with small golden rocks - that is the entrance. On the other hand, If your friend there truly has a remarkable sense of smell, then at the entrance, there will be a distinguishing sweet scent that legend says the richest of flowers and fruits carry in Beast Valley, but only that with a strong nose can catch it. It will be a deep cavern, so once you find the cave, it will take a while before you will reach the underground valley."

Nodding along with every given information, Emma memorizes the map at once with a single look over it.

"There is something else I wish to give you."

Looking back up, she sees kijin cheif Connor hand her a dark velvet bag that was about the size of her hand, "I've wanted to give you this for that boar hide you gave to me. I'm ashamed to say that I lost it when our village was destroyed. This bag is filled with over a dozen enchanted arrows that can produce destructive magical effects to whatever target you fire these arrows at."

Emma accepted the bag, unexpecting such a gesture. "Your boar hide... Or right!"

Quickly, she rummaged through her backpack, and pulls out a blackened, fuzzy short cloak that the kijin chief instantly recognized. "I thought it looked familiar," she said, "I don't know if I could fix it though..."

The kijin chief gently takes back the destroyed boar hide, "You've actually found it. Well, destroyed or not, its value remains."

He tied the hide around as his own special neckerchief. While certainly an ugly apparel, the kijin wearing it somehow made it graceful and empowering, "A shame that it's far too ruined to share a piece of it to your friends, but I shall treasure it always."

Emma nodded, "Thank you for the arrows. I know they'll help me a lot when we reach Beast Valley." She inserts the velvet bag of enchanted arrows inside her backpack.

"There is one more thing."

The kijin added. From the side of his trousers, he pulls out and shows three more gifts that were held in between his thumb and fingers of a single hand, "These will surely help you on your journey."

Handing her the items, Emma takes hold of them and examines them closely. They were flat, thin, rectangular shape things, gold and brown spiraling into the dark depths of black at the cover backs of all three. For its front, there were each different picture, with each a section of small information. "Cards?"

Killua and Gon had finished packing up the necessary stuff, they returned to Emma as she was in resuming discussion with the ogre, and saw the cards in her hands.

Killua's looked on with widened eyes, "Are those-?"

"Support Cards," kijin chief Connar revealed. "They're magical cards that can grant you an advantage. These Support Cards vary from several abilities beyond these three. There are numerous of them out in the world, and you may find them throughout your participation in this competition. Support Cards can range from healing, strength enhancement, summoning, traps, and many more."

"Are these what you and Gon talked about?" Emma asked Killua. The assassin nodded as Gon looked at the cards with Emma.

"Yeah, those are the ones. Me and Gon actually used our first card the day before we met you."

"Ah. So you are already of these cards," the kijin chief asked them. Again, Killua confirmed.

"Yeah, you can say we've used cards like these before. It was a different style, but it looks like they follow the same general rules and uses."

"Then with these cards, they may help immensely you against any unknown monsters you may find yourself against once you find and enter Beast Valley," a sheepish look draw the kijin chief. "It's not exactly our best cards though. It was all we managed to salvage when our village was destroyed. But I have faith you three are clever enough to know how to use these cards effectively."

Emma reads the description of each Support Cards closely. The first card.

**_Support Card_: Tangled Webs.**

**_Card Type_: Trap.**

**_Description_: A trap card that, when activated, will capture any target in a sticky substance that will tangle and halt the target's movements. ****To plant trap card, face the card down on any surface, when target crosses its range, it will activate and capture the target. Remove card to safely remove trap. Can be removed by anyone if spotted. Can be activated immediately upon throwing and calling its name, which can only be activated by the last holder of the card.**

The second card.

**_Support Card_: Instant Travel.**

**_Card Type_: Mobility.**

**_Description_: Can have the holder of the card and all who accompanies the card holder within a ten-meter radius travel to any destination upon the card holder's request. General location request is accepted, however, an exact description will have this card transport you to the precise destination.**

And the third card.

**_Support Card_: Mystery Box.**

**_Card Type_: Unknown.**

**_Description_: A card that can become any Support Card at random. Upon activation, it will randomly select a Support Card of any type and awaits to be used. The card holder has no control over what card can be brought forward. Can only be randomized once.**

Emma was honestly amazed that such incredible cards could exist. The Instant Travel card sounds especially useful in case either her or her new friends are in too much peril where they may need an easy way of escape. She will have to make sure to be close to them always.

"Thank you, Connor," Emma kindly said to the kijin chief. "I don't know how I can repay you for giving me so much..."

A gentle hold and ruffle of her orange hair. The tickling of her bangs that Emma closed her eyes. "This is my repayment to you," the kijin chief said to her. "You've done more than any human or monster could for us."

He smiled warmly, "I'm glad to have met you, Emma. Go. Win this preliminary. I pray that you and your friends will achieve many things in this competition. If not all things. All of us will be rooting for you."

Emma glowed with an orange-cheek happiness, meshed with a sadness that shimmered in her eyes. She nodded under his hand and went up to him. They hugged, a hug that will be their last, for after this, they will never see each other again.

One final parting words between the young competitors and the Kijin Clan, the Kijin cheered after the leaving children, wishing them luck and blessing them with favorable outcomes and fortune. The children bid them all goodbyes, with Emma taking much longer, naturally of course. She lovingly said her own hopeful words of encouragement for the kijin's new life, and quickly joins Gon and Killua who patiently waited for her until she was satisfied. She would have loved to stay with the kijin clan a little longer, but she knew that they had to move on now.

Only three days remain until the end of the preliminary.

Their next destination was set, and so they were off to find the birthplace of all monsters: Beast Valley.

/.\

They traveled for a while. The kijin clan's camp far behind them. They were heading for the edge of the forest, to exit and enter new plains to cross for their headed location. Emma once again takes lead, following the map of her Monster Tracker, remembering the advice of kijin chief Connor to take north until they see a clearing.

"Are you alright, Emma?"

She looked at Gon who offered a worried expression. She nodded eagerly to reassure, "Yeah! I'm fine."

"You were really close with that clan, huh?"

She pondered for a moment, "They're my friends, yeah, but... it's more than that. I've only known them for a little while. They were skeptical of me at first, Connor was the first one to welcome and trust me. Once we all got to know each other, they were really nice. They treated me so kindly."

She melancholy explains her feelings further, "For as long as I can remember, ever since I was born, I've only ever been around my family. There was only once when I was by myself, but it wasn't for long. Before I met you guys and the ogres, when I entered this competition, it was the second time that I was by myself again, for a whole day. It was... lonely. It was kind of scary, but it was mostly really lonely. Meeting the ogres helped me deal with this feeling a little easier, and meeting you guys made it a lot better too."

Gon said nothing. Looking down to his walking feet. Killua was equally quiet, an unadmitted feeling of empathy that he related with Emma.

"... I know what you mean," Killua said. "Before I met Gon, the only people I ever talked to was my family and our butlers. The butlers were there to work and guard our house, they look after us when our parents weren't available, but they're just there to work. I'm pretty sure my obsessive mother ordered anyone of the butlers who got close to me to keep it professional. I wasn't really allowed to have friends."

"But you had your family..." Emma pointed out softly.

Killua smiled, it wasn't supposed to look like a sad smile, but Emma saw it as one. "They're not like _yours_, Emma. My family is related by blood, but we're not _normal_ people. Sometimes, especially with my other siblings, we would torture and threaten to kill each other like it was a casual Tuesday for all of us."

He saw the increasing shock in Emma's eyes and her parted mouth of disbelief. He instantly reared into a lighter tone, though it was only for a brief moment, "I guess the only family member I'm really close to is my granddad. Other than him there's dad, and... there's our oldest brother, but believe me, it's not the kind of family love you probably only ever knew."

Gon frowned deeply at a hated memory Emma was surprised to see on him, she remained listening to Killua when he resumed.

"We're a family of assassins. Everything we do, we have to do it without any attachment to anything alive. Even among my own relatives in our big house full of butlers we talk to every day, it was always cold."

It was always lonely.

Emma was distraught as she hears Killua's family life. To be in that big house with nothing but people and his own family and other siblings, it sounds like any other home lived by a big family, but what usually consists of a happy loving family, Killua's family seemed so nightmarish. Threaten and kill each other? What siblings would do that? No, rather, what parents would forbid their child from knowing the preciousness of life? Of having friends? Of, of knowing love and appreciation to each other as family?

The more she thought of how Killua's life has been lived, the more she understood why he decided to one day leave it all behind, and the more angry she began to feel towards that way of life he was born into and raised without leaving him the choice to live otherwise.

"Do you... do you and your siblings really threaten each other like that? That's... so wrong."

At first, Killua had thought to shrug, but he paused. He stopped, actually, from walking altogether, causing Emma and Gon to stop with him.

"Well..." He began, looking at the sky that was beginning to cloud a dark gray. Rain was coming. "...There was... one other sibling I have."

A sibling that did not threaten to kill? That's good! So thought Emma. "Who were they?"

A solemn reveal in his aquatic eyes. A faint memory that was now resurfacing as clear as day, that had been nailed down and locked away when that needle was inside his brain. He felt guilt to forget her face, her entire existence. He felt guilt.

But he finally remembered, and that was all that mattered. One day. He will see her again, even if his entire family will step in to stop him.

A sudden loud beep emitted from Emma's tracker, derailing the children's attention. "A monster?" Gon asked.

Emma quickly checked her tracker, nodding, "It's up ahead." She looked at them in questioning, Gon and Killua regarded each other.

"If it's a monster, then we have to take it while we still can," Killua said. Gon nodded.

"It'll be risky without knowing what it might be beforehand, but if your tracker could tell us more about the monster and how we can defeat it, then we'll do just that."

Emma agreed, "Then let's do it. We just need to get a piece of it, I can quickly scan it with the tracker, and then we'll regroup and make a plan."

"That sounds good," Gon said. "Alright. Killua and I will take the lead, Emma, look after us from afar."

Emma gets a hold of her rifle, "Okay."

"Let's go," Killua ushered. With that, the children hurried forth. They reached a small uphill of a sort and all three dropped to a crawl and moved towards the bushes. Quietly pushing through and aside for a view, they spotted their monster.

"Wha-?!" Emma covered her mouth instantly. Gon lets out a quiet, surprised gasp.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Killua muttered under his breath.

From below the hill, it was a clearing of the forest. A flat, rockland that reached across the area by about forty or fifty so feet. Upon the rocky land, two figures stood far from each other.

"-Got to be tough if you're able to hold that many stars on you."

One was unmistakable.

What stood there was the unforgettable person from two days ago. The white silver-haired young man with that taunting visage still sharply wielding. He faces another competitor several feet away.

A man of muscles, much broader than the silver-haired opponent. A dark blue vest with the chest exposed, his small circular wounds - almost like they were pierced by gunshots, but were too broad to be of any bullet, about a tip of a finger size?, marked on his skin that seemed to have healed long ago. Armor over his shoulders, and dark blue pants. His hair was short, dark brown, and somewhat spiky.

His face was broad with bushy brows that furrowed into a frown. His eyes were narrowed and hardened, years of enduring pain and sadness, and yet, a radiant air fell upon him, a righteousness as powerful as the man himself bestow with his body alone.

On his vest there stuck a patch at the left side of his chest, seven gold stars glimmering under the dark cloudy sky filled with rain that was ready to fall.

"You're not fooling anyone either," Garou declared. "A guy with your looks, a blind man could tell a mile away that you have your share of fighting more than a few times."

The brown haired man said nothing, staring at the younger male.

"What? Got your tongue stuck behind your teeth? Or... maybe you know what I'm trying to lead up here."

He gets into a stance, arms lowered by as his fingers closed together, "In this competition, there'll be plenty of people who want to see what kind of strength everyone here has. Hold it against me or don't, I don't care. You should have expected an ambush like this, especially with that many stars you're showing off. You only have yourself to blame for your carelessness."

_It's him again. Is he going to steal that man's stars?_ Emma thought with unease._ What should we do? Just now, the tracker __definitely picked__ up his presence. __Is he a monster after all?_

"...I see," at last, the other man spoke. This man, though the children or Garou did not know yet, his name was Kenshiro.

His voice was low, and resonating with the quiet rumble in the sky, a flash of lightning flickered in the clouds. "You must be one of these competitors who's been terrorizing others... I should ask for your name, but scums who prey on others shouldn't deserve to be remembered."

"Oho!" A light laugh from the dark hunter, his expression exaggerated in mock offense, "Well aren't you harsh? Alright. How about this? Whoever wins gets to keep those stars you have on you. Oh wait, let me clarify."

A gnarling face as the corner of Garou's mouth reached his cheek, the whiteness of his teeth like sharp fangs of a vicious beast, "Who ever stays alive gets to have whatever's left on the other person."

"Men like you are foolish. Come if you dare," the other man pointed at the silver-haired fighter, his frown deepening, "You'll realize that you have already lost."

"Heh. Calling me foolish?" Garou replied, a heinous dark glare under hiw lowered brazen brows, "Pretty high and mighty of you to think you can decide that. Let's see you back that up."

He dashed forward. A sharp gasp from Emma as Gon and Killua focused and observed. Garou's feet pressured against the ground and sprung for the man like a pebble skipping across the pond, closing in as the man still had his finger raised. The way that the man simply awaited for him, Garou suspected something else at play, and from his lists of experience of an awaiting opponent, some form of counter had to be expected. So just before he was halfway towards the man, he made a sharp turn around with a flick of his ankle and pushed by the toes, his dark wear a haze from his movement.

_Let's see he can catch up to this,_ though Garou will never allow the man that opportunity. This was his intention, and yet when he moved, Kenshiro's eyes followed him. A phenomenal reaction. This man was an experienced fighter alright. _Then I'll just have to kick it up a notch!_

He continued to leap around him, sizing the reaction speed of Kenshiro as his fleeting form bounces around the man like a hopping, dashing shadow. Even passing behind him, Kenshiro did not lose track of Garou nor moved his head to follow, perfectly tracking the other opponent in his mind, his pointed finger still raised. It was a short moment of this before Garou suddenly bounced for him, feet shot for Kenshirou's shoulder. Kenshiro immedietly reacted, not with a swing of his arm or a throw of a clenched fist. But instead, he turned and short forward a finger that came like a bullet.

But to Kenshiro's surprise, Garou's foot grazed passed his finger, sliding through the side of his arm and shooting for the face, his wrist grasped tightly as if threatened to tear. A feint! Kenshiro's other hand shot up and blocked the kick as Garou, clutching the wrist, spun himself around the other man's limb and threw another foot for the face, and contact was made as Garou's foot struck Kenshiro's forehead, releasing the arm. Landing gracefully upon the ground, Garou shot himself forward for a follow up.

Kenshiro braced the attacks of several kicks and punches, crossed buffed arms that endured every hit, the eyes of the man shadowed, his reaction untold.

"What's wrong?" Garou taunted as he continued his assault of fast kicks and fists. "Is this really the best you can do?"

No response as Kenshiro shot forward another pointed finger. Whatever intention or effect was supposed to come from that, Garou avoided the attack. He wondered just how supposedly affective it would be should he be touched by it, but it did him better to never find out, and humiliate the other opponent for nothing so much as a single hit. Was this guy being serios? Or was this really the best this man could do?

_Disappointing._ An unimpressed scowl from Garou as he ducked another pointed attack by leaning his head back, watching with wide eyes the finger brush only a single strand of his eyelash._ He has good precision, but it ain't much if he can't hit me._

Feeling bold, he grabbed the man's arm again and shot up a kick to the chest. Kenshiro, however, reacted much better this time, and forced himself back as the foot flicked across the fabric of his vest with enough force to tear it through, and kicked the patch of his seven stars. Flying upward and out of reach. Kenshiro pulled his still gripped arm to tug Garou into striking range, but Garou reacted quicker, pushing the side hand of the poke strike with a palm slap and slammed his fang-like hand to Kenshiro's side, letting go of the arm as the man was pushed by the heavy-handed force, separating himself by a dozen feet from the Hero Hunter.

Scuffed by the beating that wrinkled his wear, a hole on his vest where his patch used to be, the face of the man in blue vest showed no pain, stoic even as he had so far been on the recieving end of Garou's hits. The Hero Hunter stepped back, a glaring befuddlement against the other competitor as he raised his hand up. The seven-star patch landed in his palm, he brought it down and eyed at it closely, "Are these stars really something you earned yourself? With that kind of lame defense you have?"

Kenshiro touched the side that had been hit by Garou, a minor impression upon him that left him feeling the place for a moment.

"I fought kids that put up a better fight than you. I'm not even kidding!" A snarling grimace, Garou waved the patch in his hand in taunt. "Well? I got your stars. Want to try coming at me for them, or are you going to keep acting cool?"

"...Ten times."

Garou's white brow raised in befuddled.

Kenshiro raises an index finger at Garou and restated, "I have touched you ten times."

In the midst of Garou's assault, what seemed to be devastating hits, Kenshiro had been quietly, without so much as a hint of notice, pressing the tip of his fingers against spots on the leg, the arm, the shoulder, places where while Garou was distracted planting hits. Garou had been fast, but so was Kenshiro. Though how could such small touches be of any effect?

Raising his index finger, Kenshiro also picked up the middle and ring, and started seriously, "Three..."

Garou was at a complete lost. Waiting to see the man's next move.

"Two."

Emma, Gon, and Killua watched with frowning bewilderment and wonder.

"One."

From the final raised finger, Kenshior sets it down, "Zero."

An instant prod from Garou's joints and muscles. An instant prod that turned to a sharp poke. An instant sharp poke that transformed into the shredding of his flesh and splattered blood that blew and coated his entire body with a sickening sound. They were opened as if by blades, they were opened as if by explosives.

"...Huh?" Garou looked down at his instantly bloodied body. "_Huh?_"

Emma gagged behind her covered mouth. Gon and Killua could hardly believe what they saw.

"Wha... What did you..." The Hero Hunter fell to his knees. A sudden loss of the support in his legs, as if his knees had collapsed. The patch with its seven stars fell from his loosened grip.

"I had touched the pressure points in your limbs and joints," Kenshiro revealed. "You will not be walking any time soon. This assassin technique can penetrate even the sturdiest of armors, causing the human body to react violently, and self destruct. This is the power of the **Hokuto Shin Ken**; the most powerful and invincible technique from where I am from."

A bloody burst from Garou's mouth, he spat out chunks of his blood. It was like his insides swallowed hundreds of razor blades that were ignited by dynamites. He listened to the explanation of what his body had just endured. _You're kidding me... This sort of technique exists?!_

To defeat an opponent just by touching him? No wonder that man didn't try to pull back his fist to launch a punch. He didn't have to. Even worse, he had been pegging Garou as an unknowing "fool". _Damn it! I was reckless!_

He checked his hands, testing the movement of his fingers. They were still functional, although the pain made it difficult to tell. He could still react somewhat, though he felt his knees to be severely damaged. He didn't feel the bones break, so it may just have been the muscles. Would he still be able to move?

He then heard the approaching footsteps from the man.

"I've only used a small percentage of my ability," Kenshiro added. "Have I pushed any further, you wouldn't even been able to talk. You will take this time to think over all of your wrong doings."

Rain drips down from the sky, a beginning few taps that soon became a downpour of endless drops, dowsing both figures and cleaning away some of Garou's blood.

"If you think what was done to your body was appalling," the dangerous man said, a dark gloom in his eyes that showed no mercy, "Then what do you believe will happen if something like the head was touched?"

Panic raced through Garou's entire system. His beating heart that hurt against his rib-cage repeatedly. Jolted by this impending sense, his palms slammed against the ground to a push, and he forces himself to stand._ Deal with it. Deal with it. Just deal with-_

As he prepared to raise his arms in defense, another devastating shred of his blood burst from his legs, his knee further imploded and he dropped back down hard, falling right onto his front, face-planted until he lifted half of his upper body up somewhat by the push of the arms against the ground.

"It is useless to stand or run away," Kenshiro said. "While you had tossed your kicks, I had touched the pressure points of your knees. You will take this moment to regret all of your crimes, and say your final prayers."

A sudden switch from fight to flight, Garou tried crawling away. He didn't care how pathetic it made him look, as long as he can get the chance to get away and recuperate himself-

That's when the joints of his elbows imploded as well, and another splash of his blood painted the ground below him. The power of this man's technique will not allow the hunter to escape. The footsteps stopped near Garou's form, the hand with its deadly fingers picking up the seven-star patch in retrieval.

"...Looking at you this close. You're actually young."

When Garou looked up, he spotted two of the man's fingers - an index and middle - were held over the bloodied dark hunter's forehead, the eyes of the older man seem to have unchanged, and yet, there was a slight, release of his intensity that Garou thought to be judgmental, a softening pressure from his deriving hate against the wickedness that introduced itself in the form of this now grounded fighter. The man standing seemed almost... confused.

"Your fighting is impressive. Whoever taught you those moves has done well to implement them into your being. That is a sign of a master who has loved his student dearly. So tell me."

His fingers grew closer to Garou's forehead, an inch close to his profusely sweating and bleeding skin.

"Does your master know of your behavior? If he does, how proud is he of you now?"

Think. Think. Think. What can he do? If Garou moves, he'll be caught. If he is touched, he's dead. Should he grab the arm again? But then this guy proved he was much faster than Garou took him for, it might not work, but hell, what else is he supposed to do? Assassin technique, well this certainly wasn't a quiet one at that.

_Shit. He's about to kill me. Don't know why he's hesitating, is he getting off on this? Well I'll show him, just keep talking and give me like two seconds, and I'll..._

A centimeter from touch that thinned the hero hunter's breath, movements stilled as a statue even as the cold touch of the rain poured over the Kenshiro's skin to the tip of his fingers, it dripped to Garou's forehead that he damnably flinched at it.

"You would boast taking my life, but you can't fool me. Those eyes of yours."

Wild. Driven. Challenging. That was what showed before, yet at the same time, they were Demanding. Desperate.

Isolated.

Rain fell as thin, crooked streams over Kenshiro's impassive face, the eyes of this assassin reflected from the raindrops as Garou immedietly stilled when the man uttered, "You do not have the eyes of a true killer."

Cold. Yet gentle. Hard. Yet soft. Firm. Yet sad.

Not a single ounce of real wickedness shines in either man's heart through the windows of their souls.

"Not of a cold-hearted murderer. Or one who kills to enjoy the despicable act of it. Those eyes of yours, they do not hold such things. Tell me," Kenshiro said with narrowed eyes, "What are you trying to achieve?"

/.\

"How... How did he do that?" Gon saked, amazed by the incredible yet grotesque form of ability. He listens to the explanation the brown hair man was giving so generously. "Pressure points... An assassin technique? Is that true Killua?"

Killua frowned, "Grandad always told me stories about how there lived assassins who can kill a person with a single touch. I've never seen it myself..." Yet it was somewhat ludicrous that this person would call the manner of causing people to explode an "assassin technique", there was absolutely no subtly to it. But it doesn't make it any less dangerous.

Emma's breath was caught in her throat. She was stunned to speechlessness, the horror show of a person's body being shredded open from the inside. It was miraculous that this dark hunter could somewhat still speak and not roll around in agony, or what the pain so great that he couldn't even scream about it? Goosebumps traveled across her body at such a horrifying ability, and that a human could actually perform such a terrible technique that surely does not give any mercy to those who have been targeted by it.

"What should we do?" Gon asked Killua.

Killua looked at the scene in brief silence, "We better stay out of sight. That guy's pretty much done for." He referred to the silver haired competitor, the bottom of that silver hair dowsed in redness now.

Emma looked at the struggling dark hunter, flailing to move and escape only for his knees to explode too, flinching from the brutal display. A pang in her gut and heart at the sight of such desperation.

The man in dark blue draws closer to the bloodied figure that had also his elbows blown apart.

_He's going to die..._ Emma harrowing realized.

That cruel attacker who chased had chased them and fought with her friends. That man of savage-fighting style that was both mended with controlled grace. That terrifying figure, the very same who now lies upon the ground helplessly, unchanged in form as this would be the time to call for it, seeing his human face wracking with whatever idea he could grasp.

He was also the one who had protected her from the King Taijitu and let her go, hardly harming her, hardly seemed even wanting to. Mouth thinning as her heart was rapid in agitation, an intensity that shook Emma from the inside.

"There's not much we can do here than just waiting to see if either of them would notice us," Killua stated, "Let's not stick around just to find out what happens-"

He turns to Emma for her input, but finds her missing. "Huh?"

Gon looked as well, "Wha-? Emma? Emma!"

Killua's eyes darted to their whole surroundings, "Where did she-?!"

From their captured attention to the shortly presented fight below, Emma had quickly snuck away from her travelling companions. The intensity in her heart firing up her system that she began to move, to act, before she would ever stop to think about the consequences of this. But stopping to think about it would mean the loss of time, and before she knows it, someone was going to die.

The someone that she doesn't believe has to die. Was this an obligation? Not quite.

It was a matter of having faith in a person, and she didn't have it in her to watch as a helpless person dies before her eyes. And before she knew it, she had fired her four-barrel pistol as lightning sounded across the air.

**Flash.**

From the stand off below, the awaiting finishing blow being hold off in consideration, Kenshiro was caught by surprise when he heard the sound of what was most certainly not lightning, and yet what came after it had the same, if not an even greater effect. He quickly looked up from the bloodied young man to the sky, through the falling raindrops, a small metallic sort of object could be distinguished if one were to have the sharpest eyes. From that bullet, its surface fell apart in pieces.

And a flash of white instantly blinded the whole area.

Garou did not know what happened, coming to a quick conclusion that a lightning must have struck down somewhere nearby. It seems God has taken pity over him (not that he wanted it), but the moment the area was coated in white light, and the distraction of his dangerous opponent who shielded his eyes from the effects, the strive to battle even while bloodied takes a sharp turn for a more strategic reprieve.

He was willing to stand on his own two feet in deranged determination if it meant that he was going to die anyhow, but against an opponent that could literally "touch him to death," his ways to attack dwindled to very, very few options. He was willing to fight the man still, but with how heavily injured he is, he'll have to play smart and swallow his pride, at least once the opportunity presents itself. There's no shame in retreating if it means he can come back better prepared.

So with that, Garou forced his arms to move, forcing his legs to move, ignoring the pain like white noise as blood pours out from their open wounds. Fueling himself with energy, his body rushed away from the surprised man, moving almost four-legged, and drags himself out of the area in a brisk second.

The moment of the light show, Gon and Killua were caught off guard by it. They knew at once for it to not be lightning, and their thoughts trailed immediately for the one who could have caused it. Her mentioning of a bullet that could cast the blinding effect.

They hear rustling from the bushes beside them, and the voice of Emma sprung out. "Gon! Killua!"

Killua started, "Did you actually-!"

"We got to go! Now!" She takes his hand before letting him finish, then Gon's hand as well, and together, they hurry down a path, ushered along until their coherent thoughts revived and ran alongside her. The children ran through the forest with their white light overhead their saving grace. At its eventual fade, Kenshiro's eyes adjusted, and he found himself alone.

He saw the blood trail that no doubt belonged to the hero hunter, the evidence to this shocking, "What?! He could still move?!"

No man could make it farther than a foot before he would already realize he was completely immobile, and yet that competitor was able to get as far away as he did.

Grabbing his side that had dealt with that powerful strike from the white-silverish hair opponent. "He's strong. To have overcome the damage and still be able to run..."

Moreover, there was something else about that young man he noticed. Identified. It left him here in place, for a single moment, as he simply looked at the bloody trail in thought.

After this moment, Kenshiro turns away from the trail and walks off calmly, resuming his journey as a wanderer and continuing through the rest of the event that yet beholds.

/.\

"I can't believe you did that..." Killua stated as he takes lead, Emma and Gon following behind. Though the trees that stood tall above their heads did much to protect them from most of the rainfall, there were still droplets of the cold drops that were starting to soak their shoulders.

"Honestly, you're too soft, Emma," the assassin scolded. "You can't stop to help everybody you see. Especially guys who attacked us before!"

Emma looked to the ground, a slight frown of her orange brows, "I know, but..."

Killua sighed, "Look, if you're still thinking how that guy kept you from being eaten by a monster, I'm pretty sure he didn't do it just to be kind. He thought you had his stars, so he kept you alive."

"But then he left me alone," albeit, Emma was prodded with those harsh jabs, but otherwise, that person spared her.

"Sure, but you don't owe the guy. He's an opponent, don't think he'll be grateful if he sees you again." Killua lectures.

Gon spoke up in defense of Emma, "She just wanted to help. If she does feel like she owed that guy, then she can give it if she really wanted to."

"It's not that though," Emma corrected, earning a look from the boys as she frowned deeper, more sullen, "I just... don't think he should have to die."

The memory of her dead little sister haunts her to this day. The stories of other children being murdered as they ran. She felt sickened. She knew there were bad people, and what that buff man did was clearly self-defense, but to kill a human while they're down? Emma couldn't stand for that. And furthermore...

"I really believe he isn't a bad person," Emma said as before. "And since he's not, should we really ignore him when he's in trouble?"

"It wasn't any of our business," Killua argued. "Even if he might be a guy that has some likable qualities, hat doesn't make him a good person. Take me for example."

"But you are a good person," Emma countered. "You look out for us. Even if you and your family are assassins and you probably did some bad things, you're actually more than that. You're a good ally, and a good friend to the both of us."

Gon smiled with a little laugh. Killua, taken aback by her unhesitating words, huffed out in exasperation, scratching his head to rid the feeling that compliment gave him. "Man, you really are weird."

Emma puffed her cheeks determinedly, assured that she was not wrong and will not revoke those words. Killua resumed his way, "Whatever. What's done is done. We can't change what happened."

He spotted an overgrown tree with its strong roots picking itself up, allowing a cover that looked big enough for all three to take camp, bushes in the middle of where they can enter.

"Come one, lets find some cover until the rain passes-" He pushes aside the bushes in entering the under tree.

Garou sat inside, huddled against the wall of roots. His arms crossed over his knees. The torn flesh apparent but the bleeding seem to stop, yet still hideously mauled with exposed under-skin. His hair dripped with rainwater and blood as he stared at the children. They stared at him back.

And then bolted right out of their and to another direction, Gon and Killua picking Emma up quickly by the arms before she even had the chance to turn around, and carried her bemused self as they flee.

"Why the hell did we have to run into him?!" Killua demanded as he and Gon glided over the grass with hasty feet.

"Don't ask me! How should I know?!" Gon shouted back.

A dotted expression on Emma while her arms were in a tight hold by theirs, seeing her legs faliling. She saw the figure of the silver hair competitor jump from tree to tree. Before she could warn the boys, Garou jumps a hefty distance and was ahead of them instantly.

Gon and Killua stopped at once, an angry expression as Garou landed a few feet in front of them, glowering down at the children.

"It's you brats from yesterday..." Paling widened eyes and a disturbing furrow of his silver brows, he looked even more vicious and ferocious with his battle wounds. "You were the ones I felt watching me when I was facing that guy."

Killua clicked his tongue behind his teeth, _I forgot his senses are insane_, Killua thought to himself bitterly before speaking, "Hey, you sure you want to mess with us? You should probably focus on healing first."

"Shut up," Garou wordily reprimanded, pointing at them, "I still owe you brats some payback. Don't think I'll be as easy-going this time, even with kids like you."

The boys glared at the wounded young man, Emma craning her head to see behind her and at the looming Garou until she was suddenly let go by the boys. Gon helping her up while keeping his eyes on Garou. "And don't think I forgot about you either," Garou said, pointing at Emma. "I'm still pretty sore about you taking my stars. I've warned you too. Now I got to live up my promise."

Gon and Killua aura's spiked with power, ready to attack. They know now not to underestimate each other. This fight will be decided once and for all.

"I remember, but even so, I'm really glad you got away mister."

The words of Emma brings a halt to their spirits. Surprised, Gon and Killua looked behind them with baffled looks, "Huh?"

Garou took a pause, blinking at the little girl who smiles at him. He watched in further muted wide-eyed as she walked up, passing between her two friends expressing shocked reaction, and stops right in front of him in his blood-coated state.

"H-hey! What are you-?!" Killua stutted in disbelief. Gon's passion derailed at her unforeseen action, watching her in widely confused curiosity.

Emma faces up close the bloodied young man who looked down at her. His wild eyes regarding her in blatancy. He didn't expect her to come up to him like this. All calm and composed, not even equipping her rifle. He expected what she just said even less.

"What did you say?" Garou asked in quiet dumbfounded, his ears mildly filled with rainwater and also his blood, probably bits of his flesh also. So surely, he didn't just hear that she was _relieved_ to see that he got away from death, did he?

"I said that I'm glad you got away, but you really took a lot though. Are you alright?" she pointedly looked at the ripped open flesh through his dark clothing. Garou said nothing, wondering about the strange brave little girl standing in front of him.

"By the way. We found your patch."

Gon and Killua harshly flinched at her telling. Garou's eyes widened further.

"But then we gave it away."

The young boys gawked at her bluntness. The dark hunter's eyes might as well pop out as he listened. A slow, teeth-clenching smile stretched the bottom of Garou's face like he could break his own jaw, "You gave them away...?"

"Most of them anyway. I'm sorry."

"You're _sorry_?" The audacity of this little child. Garou's strained grinning teeth creaked at their tightening close of his building anger.

"There were people who needed it and we weren't sure if we were ever going to see you again, but now that we found you, I think it was best that you should know."

Reaching into her vest pocket, Emma takes out her patch of three stars, and points to one of them. "The only star that was left that belonged to you was this one."

_What is she-?!_ Killua stared incomprehensibly.

What can only be seen as a mad move, she walked closer, picking out two gold stars from her patch, and reached for his other hand. Garou observed her in astound silence, as she gently takes his hand - himself too baffled to react - and places two of her stars in his palm, closing his fingers to hold them.

"Here, you can have these," she patted his knuckles, "That should give you a good head start if you still needed more stars."

Garou stilled. His mind completely left him.

"Wha..." Killua started, "H-hey! What are you doing?! Are you actually going to give him your stars?!"

"Sure," Emma answered, turning to him. "We're going to find more later anyway."

"That's not the point! Did you forget that we fought with this guy yesterday?!"

"No, but we shouldn't get side-tracked. Besides, we all have the same goal, why should any of us fight?"

"Wha-? Are you being serious?! What makes you think he's even going to just let us go?!"

"He probably won't. But even so," was her simple response.

A startled, gawking pause of disbelief, Gon steadily leaves his defensive posture as he watches Emma and Killua have their discussion. Listening to their given points they remained steadfast to.

"It'll be a long journey where we're going, and dangerous too," Emma reasoned. "So we should avoid too many fights and focus on ourself, plus, we don't need to hurt other competitors."

"That's what this guy has been doing! You literally just saw it!"

"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean _we_ have to do it too."

As they talked (one yelling and the other not budging), Garou slowly raised his hand to himself, uncurling his fingers to see, the golden shine of the two smalls stars in his palm while he hears the worded debacle outside his focus. Eyeing back at the orange hair girl moving her arms up and down in appeasing effort, the boy in white who assertively pointed his finger at her, their stubborn discussion continuing without pause, and the boy in green at a total loss of what to do as he simply watches his companions argue.

_I messed up._

He looked back down at the stars given to him.

_I messed up real bad._

This was just pathetic. Not to these children, but to_ himself_. To be pitied by a little girl, for her to relent two of these stars and then have her back to him. First his humiliating loss against that man and his explosive touch, and now this treatment?

How is he supposed to be the Ultimate Evil if he can't even scare a couple of kids? They weren't even guarded around him anymore as they were trying to comprehend this girl's misguided attempt of compassion. He has totally lost his fearing effect on all three of them.

He can't let this go on.

He has to correct this.

_Only one way..._

Yellow chrome sharp gaze fell upon the orange hair girl. His face shadowed with malicious intent. Clutching the stars in a tight squeeze with his ring finger and pinky, he extended three of his other fingers for her head.

_I have to crush them._

They were all competitors. This was unavoidable. They're opponents he has to overcome; Evil must not be soft on anyone. He saw the eyes of the boys sparked in alarmed. Good. Maybe this ought to instigate them. To not just easily forget about him and put him aside in disregard. They were still out in the open, and he will instill the danger of disregarding the dangerous opponent that still lurk at this very area for them. To let down their guards would prove to be their undoing. Let this be a lesson for them not to lax their guard so carelessly if they want to keep being in this competition.

"Anyway, I think we should bring him with us!"

He stopped his closing reach, freezing him in place as he looked on. Gon and Killua, who were ready to react, were once more deflected by their own shock at Emma's sudden exclaim. She turned around for the bloodied hunter once more, his baring fingers like the fangs of a wolf for the feeble figure of the little rabbit in his view, not even fazed by them.

"How about it mister? We know a place where we can get more stars." Spreading her arms apart in invite, she spoke whole-heartedly to the white haired devil cloaked in blood as the rain falls all around them.

"Why don't you come with us? Let's go to Beast Valley together!"

Doomed words could never be said, and yet she said it with a smile.

* * *

**_Competitors Introduced:_**

**_Kenshiro (Fist of the North Star/Hokuto No Ken)_**

**Please leave a kind and honest review.**


	7. Tension and Travel

Chapter 7: Tension and Travel

His extended hand and baring fingers coated in his blood paused in the air, unmoving for the little girl of messy orange hair who looked up at him with round green eyes. Like a startled wolf hesitating to bite down the head of the lamb who presented herself so carefreely, stupefied to silence when she offered him that invite with open arms, unafraid of his capability to break her bones and spirit with a single ease should he so much as decided to.

Her baffled companions stood behind her. That sudden proposal was something that neither Gon or Killua expected. What mind compelled her to have this person join them in their travel, when only a day ago he had attacked them? The person who instigated them to fight, and clearly intends to do so now? Does she think she could reason with this competitor?

_No way_, Killua was certain. He only knew Gon could be this reckless, and it was as foolish as he sees it. _There's no reasoning with a guy like this! What is she thinking?!_

The falling rain filled the void of their silence. The endless thick leaves above their head granted by the tall trees their only cover, a becoming chill in the air. Emma remained happily waiting for the paused silver-haired competitor in front of her, unfazed by the shocked reaction all around her.

"...Why would I want to do that?" The bloodied hunter finally spoke. A question that even he was wondering the mentality of this girl.

"We're all trying to get more stars," Emma answered with an upbeat voice. "We only have three days left. My friends and I haven't seen any wild monsters around here, and who knows if all the other areas outside this forest have already been cleared? Don't you think we should work together to find enough stars for all of us?"

"But why should I travel with _you_?" Garou asked her, "What's Beast Valley anyway?"

"It's where all the monsters of this world come from," she responded before Killua could shout for her to stop. Noticing Killua's reaction, Garou realized that she was telling the truth.

"There are lots of monsters there," she explained, "and not a lot of people know about it. So I'm sure we'll be able to get our five stars if we go there! It's a dangerous place, so we could use all the help we can get."

"And you think I'll help you?" Garou slowly made sense of her suggestion, yet was only even more confused. "What makes you believe I'd do that?"

"No reason, other than that you should."

His jaw dropped incredulously at her blunt, short counter. Gon blinked widely at her back, and Killua was now sure Emma misplaced her head somewhere, a disbelieving twitch under his eye.

"You did take us by surprise the first time, but I understand that you were just uncomfortable for being watched," Emma discloses. "We weren't trying to look for a fight. We didn't mean to spy on you, but that's over now. Let's not fight anymore and move on."

"Move on-?" Garou broke to a wild, disbelieving grin, a furious point at her absurdity, "You got _some_ nerve little missy! You think I'll just let you and your friends off like that? After that kid threw his toy that weighed a ton at me? And that other brat punched me into a tree? And don't think I forgot what _you_ did. You're the reason why I don't even have my stars anymore!"

"And this is my way of making it up to you," Emma said. "I can lead you to get more stars if you still need it."

"And why should I believe you?" He challenged, putting down his hand and pressing the side of his hip with his fist, "How would I know you wouldn't just ditch me at the last second or lead me to a trap?"

"You have my stars," Emma reminded him. "They're yours now, but you can also hold onto them while I lead you to the valley, and get the rest of the stars we're all still missing. I can even give you my last star if you don't believe me."

"E-Emma! Are you sure?" Gon asked her. She nodded to him with an reassuring smile.

"I am. Beast Valley is said to be a dangerous place, so I think we should get as much help as we can and go there together." She turned back to Garou who regarded her with widened eyes, "If I give you my last star though, I want you to promise that you won't attack us, and we won't attack you either."

He recovered quick, and Garou responded, "Yeah? Well you sure got a lot of guts to get me to go with you. What makes you think I won't just take your stars anyway?"

The boys were at edge upon this declare, Emma on the other hand, seemed confused.

"Why would you?" She asked with a mild perturbed frown. "We'll get more stars where we're going anyway. It's not like you _need_ to take ours."

"Well maybe I just feel like it, and it'll ruin your day," Garou stated, a half-based response that even he thought was lame, but he wasn't going to let these rascals off easy. Gon was both baffled and angry at the response, and Killua just didn't know what to think of this man.

_What is he a kid?_ Was all Killua could come to. It sounded more like a deflection than a real response, but if he really meant it, he's even more insane than Killua took him granted for.

"That's not really a good answer," Emma said matter-of-factually.

"I don't_ need_ a good answer. I'm _not_ a good guy," Garou emphasized before looking aside, straightening his back and raising his chin a little, "You know what though? That place you mentioned does sound interesting."

She was right how there were no monsters roaming around this forest as before, with yesterday's commotion of other competitors; lashing out their powers against monsters caught him off-guard. He had realized too late, after he left this child alone, he should have rigorously sought out his next hunt when he still had the chance.

There was not even so much as a body left for him to scrape by. Even the Devil Serpent that he fought hard for to defeat was gone when he went to recover it from where he left it, either taken by another monster as food, or some other competitor took it. Maybe both.

He searched all morning then, but besides his first star he collected from the scale of that giant white and black snake monster, he had no luck of getting beyond that one star. Two were now held in his hand, but he would rather bleed out all of his blood or even lose all of his stars again than he would to accept this hand-out.

However, if this Beast Valley place houses plenty of more creatures, then he might be able to recover his stars once more. Hunting monsters wasn't his main interest, getting ahead of this competition and ahead of others was. But having to follow these three kids with two he's especially out to get back at and one who held responsible for his troubling situation, that is definitely not what he had in mind for.

Beating up kids wasn't a priority of his, but if kids like these were tough and willing to fight, then they should expect an opponent who won't show them any mercy _just_ because they were children - he certainly hadn't had those kinds of pity when he was their age. It was a harsh reality, and he intends to be the embodiment of such cruelty.

It wouldn't hurt to know where this secret location is though. To have more stars would be to show off his own skills and proofs of successions. Triumphing this course before the beginning round and besting everyone else, and let all know the name of Garou as a being to be feared and reckon with. By then, when he returns to his world, he will be one step closer in his mission of becoming the Ultimate Evil; the Monster of all monsters.

"How about you tell me where it is?" It was a foreboding tone in the dark hunter's question as he looked down at the girl. Blood painted half of his face as it washes with the rain.

"I can't tell you that." Emma denied giving that information to the very imposing and dangerous looking figure.

Garou tilts his head aside, blood and raindrop dripping from the lobe of his ear, "Why not?"

"I don't know where it is." She said.

He takes a pause. "Didn't you say you were heading there?" He raises a white brow at her.

"I have the location, but I have no idea how to find the entrance. There's plenty of clues, but that could take too long." She then smiled, a daring act in the face of this dark, unhinged hunter. "Only I know how to find it easier."

The tracking device that was hidden in her vest pocket. Without it, even if they knew the sign of finding the entrance with the hints given by the kijins, at this location, it will surely be a prolonging, exhausting task that might take them too long.

"Wait Emma-!" Killua starts to move but Garou's sharp gaze had him stopped at his track. While the dark hunter had his hand down, at any moment he could strike forward and kill their only guide who stood close in front of. Even if Killua could retrieve the Monster Tracker, Gon would not take well to Emma being harmed nor would he want to leave his fight with Gaoru unfinished.

Garou returned his focused gaze upon the girl, "Alright. How do I find it?"

"I can't tell you that either, mister," she said honestly. "If you want to know, then you'll have to come with us."

Emma was playing with fire here, and Garou was sure that she is aware of this. "Why don't I just make you tell me?"

She didn't miss a beat. "Then we would be here all day, and it's not like Gon and Killua can tell you. They don't know either. Only I do."

She stretched her arms out from her sides again, saying with a wide smile. "I guess we'll just have to see which one of us breaks first!"

It was demonstrative, she is just as crazy as the vicious, wounded person in front of her. Gon stared at her in mild awe that he actually found it honestly admirable, and Killua has now see the level of questionable intent to the girl. If she had been the least bit faze by what this man was clearly capable of, she hid it impressively well behind that sunshine expression of hers.

Garou blankly stared at her, this little girl that was like a strange little creature in his view. He raises a bloody finger for her face, "...You got some screws loose in your head, don't you?"

_Like he's one to talk..._ Killua thought with a drop of sweat.

"I'm trying to save my family."

A stillness in Garou's whole posture, his raised finger held in place by the abrupt tackle of the serious statement said by the girl. He looked at her longer.

"I want to get the wish as much as I'm sure everyone else here wants it," she began, "Everyone must have their reason, and I'm sure you must have a wish too, mister. But we don't have to fight each other for it, or why you feel that you should, unless,.."

She regarded him with an intuitive gaze, tilting her head slightly, "Is that the only way you think you _can_ win, mister?"

It was like a bottle just broke over his head. His breath halted as the boys felt a chill crawl up their spine. A frozen stunned expression on Garou for a moment, then a bulging vein of fury at both his temples, threatening to burst more of his blood. His teeth shown in a tight clench that could break, his eye twitching even more.

_This little-!_ His teeth tightly gritted in biting rage it stung his jaw, his eyes absolutely maddened. _You know what?! Screw it! I'm hitting this kid! I'm sending her sky high!_

He was certainly compelled to, fueled by a rage in him that it took about everything in him to not simply do so, his devil-like grin of a face enough to give any little kid nightmares for weeks.

Life was unfair, it was how it always is. So in order to survive such a life, he had to be just as unfair. He didn't care if he gets called out on it, whether hypocritically so or self-righteously so. He was the monster whose own identity was pushed upon him since he was small, that he decided to wear it proudly, and wage war against the whole world. A tragic life, yes, it is a tragedy.

But he did not need anyone's sad glances like he was some kind of beaten, abandoned, lost puppy. If he gets that sort of look even once, then he has failed his mission, and will have to try harder next time. He will try for that sort of horrified awe and vengeful anger than that embarrassing showcase of sorrow that just makes him seem pitiful than the villain that he is reaching to be.

There was no such pity or sorrow in her eyes though, just curious, wondering about the man before him who had terrified her before, and now seemed so strange she wanted to understand. Yet before she could speak further, Killua spoke up, "Emma. Just give it up. He's clearly looking for a fight."

Emma turned for Killua, "Well I don't want to."

His brow twitched and he starts once again, "It doesn't matter. He-"

"No!" She then said, loud and firmly. "We don't have time to fight! So no fighting!"

"Will you just listen-?!"

"No no no no no! No fighting no fighting and that's final!"

She stomped on the ground in loud demands, sticking by her refusal with an adorably fierce face and flailing arms. Gon and Garou had no response to this tantrum, the hero hunter staring incredulous, and Gon actually smiling in amusement at her high spirited self before he looked down thoughtfully. Killua has just about lost all of his patience with this girl.

"What are you five?!" Killua yelled, pointing at Garou, "Face it! He's not going to be the only guy we'll meet who'll want to start something! This is a competition! Whether you're willing to or not, we have to fight! It's basic survival! I thought you would already know that by now!?"

"I do! And I understand" Emma asserts. "I'm not saying I'm not willing to fight back! What I'm saying is that we don't have to!"

"It's not always going to be that easy!" the young assassin told.

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't try!" Emma refuted. "What's wrong with avoiding conflict and making sure my friends don't get hurt? I know you guys are strong! You both are really amazing! But that doesn't mean I can't protect you when I can!"

"Protect-? You're the one who got caught by this guy!"

"Of course I did! He's also incredible! That's why I'm asking him to come with us!" She emphasizes, pumping her arms, "So deal with it!"

Garou sniffed in obvious annoyance as he watched the two kiddos enter in their furious spat again. His own hand still out for the girl, yet none of them seem to pay it or even him anymore mind. It was taking all of his self-control not to just hit one or all of these kids in the head just to remind them that he was still here.

Emma paid no fearful mind to the watchful competitor behind her, nor allow herself to be swayed by Killua's sensible argument. Whether this might doom them, or anything else, Emma is a believer and an activist that would try her might to seek the preferred outcome, if only just to take a chance.

There was no contingency plan, what she simply had with her is faith, and an understanding that they were all people just trying to survive and win.

She faces back to the awaiting white silverish haired competitor, "Mister, I understand that you're angry with us, but you don't have to take my friend's stars, or fight them at all."

Doing his best to calm down as it wouldn't be worthwhile losing his temper over what a little kid said to him when she _clearly_ doesn't have a clue about it, he breathed out a question, wondering what her next choice of absurd words will be, "And why shouldn't I?"

"Well, I'm the one who took your stars, so if there's really anybody you want to punch, then I'll take the hit."

The hero hunter's thoughts ceased once more.

"...e...EH?!" Gon spouted in shock after his mind rebooted upon hearing her casual-said suggestion. "Emma! Y-you can't! His punches seriously aren't a joke! We were only able to handle it cause we had-!"

Killua broke out of his equally blatant stupor. A panicked face as he slammed his hand over Gon's mouth before the other boy could spiel their Nen secret ability to the enemy before them.

"You keep quiet!" Why? Why on earth does he have to deal with two simpletons and a lunatic and be the only one with a stable mindset? The assassin who lived a life designed to kill others, and yet he was completely out numbered in insanity by these people!

Garou seemed not to notice Killua's reaction, his own stupor upon the little girl again.

"... kid, you wouldn't even be able to handle a single tap from me," Garou said, all while wondering exactly what is wrong with this kid's head. He pointed matter-of-factly, "You couldn't even take a poke and I wasn't even_ trying_."

Emma nodded, "You're right. The truth is, you're really strong. You were able to fight that snake monster by yourself, and with your own fists too. Then you survived that man's power, and were still able to run and catch up to us. All that must really hurt, but you kept going. That's pretty awesome, honestly. That's why I want you to come with us, we could use someone as strong as you are."

"Don't think you can convince me with flattery, kid," Garou responded with a bite of air. He's seen enough kiss-ass from students when he was still in grade school in efforts to ease up their failing grade, and seeing teacher _falling_ for that pathetic act, it made him want to vomit.

"I still don't see why I should follow you," he added. "Give me one good reason why I should leave your friends alone and go with you?"

"To help each other," was Emma's unhesitating, simple answer.

A mild rumble in the cloud-filled sky. Garou looked dumbfounded, "...that's it?"

"Is there any other reason?" Emma asked him back. "I didn't forget what you told me before. It's true that sometimes, it can't be helped if we fight, or if we fight alone. I've known many who didn't make it, because there wasn't anybody there who could have helped them."

She thought of all her foster siblings who were shipped away, of Conny, of the children who were murdered by Lewis, every Cattle Children in the Demon World, all who ended up perishing, not anyone around that were willing, or able, to help and save any of them.

Garou caught sound of the knowing tone in her voice, a wonder to what sort of experience she had. He kept his expression stoic and stern, though quiet and listening.

"I know though, or at least I can imagine that most competitors probably have their own grief and sadness. Their hopes and dreams. They all must have a reason for competing, just like I do."

She looked back up at him, "That's why if I can help it, I would want to help them too. We should all help each other, because sometimes, everyone can't always help themselves. I wouldn't have gone this far if it wasn't for my family back at my world, so if I could, I would want to help others too. You don't have to come with us if you really don't want to, but we shouldn't have to hurt each other."

She gestured to her friends with arms stretched back, "These guys I'm traveling with, they're here to help someone back in their world. I'm here to help my family in my world. You might have a wish that's also important too, mister."

She concluded with resolve, "What I'm getting at is that we don't need to compete for just one wish; let's all work together and make all of our wishes come true!"

"And how are you going to do that?" Garou asked with genuine curiosity. He didn't correct her about having a wish, that this girl was wrong for her to think that he does. Indeed, he was not here for that so-called prize, but was here to improve himself with his own sweat and blood and life. For that one goal he wants to accomplish, he shall accomplish it himself. Though it brought him interest to hear what sort of plan did this eleven-year old had.

"I have no idea!" She revealed proudly, like a slap to his face that he stared at her dumbly, "but if we put our heads together, I'm sure we'll figure something out!"

"Are you being serious?" Garou asked her.

"I am! Let's work together!"

Killua sighed heavily behind her. It's no use, this guy is certain not to budge. It was decent that Emma would think she can look for a peaceful resolution, though she went about it the most brash way possible. But it was evident enough, this person in front of them won't let them off easily.

"...Hey mister."

Before Garou could allow himself to fathom the girl and her bizarre words prompted by her weird logic, Gon calmly spoke up, his angered eagerness having softened, a thoughtful look about him as he gained the dark hunter's attention. "If I give up my stars, would you leave us alone?"

Killua whipped his head towards his friend, a long "HUH?!" escaping his appalled expression.

Garou slowly turned his attention towards the hunter in green. "..._what_?" He stressed. Emma also looked at Gon in surprise.

"I still want to fight you," Gon said his feelings quickly, "And if you don't want to accept her offer, then if I give you my stars, will you leave us alone for the rest of the Preliminary?"

He spoke with resolve, stepping forward, a determined shine in his amber eyes, "Any time, and any day. I'll fight you. If you promise you won't attack us right now until the end of the week, I'll give you all three of my stars."

"You've got to be kidding me..." Killua irritably scratched his own head. He thought he had to worry about only one reckless person in his presence, but then realized that there were actually two of those here with him. At this point, he's completely given up, and decides to just wait and see how this will unravel.

"Y-you don't have to go that far, Gon!" Emma immediately told him. While this certainly might help them quite a lot apart from the promised deal of fighting the man another time, she didn't want Gon to risk his position in the competition.

Gon smiled at her, "But you're right. We shouldn't get sidetracked. Besides, we'll get more stars at the valley. It'll be fine."

He walked to her side, looking up at the befuddled silver-haired competitor sternly, he takes out his patch from the pocket of his green shorts, and held it out to Garou. "Well mister? Do we have a deal?"

Garou regarded them with long bafflement, eyes focused on the three-star patch that was offered to him. He looked back at the boy whose frowning eyes shone, he looks at the girl who was worried for her friend and meeting Garou's wild eyes, that stubborn bravado fading at the personal inclusion of her friend.

He then looked at the boy in white, who was just unbelievably exasperated with his two friends, yet still stood there as he said and does nothing more, given up reasoning with the two unreasonable children trying to appease the battle-hungry competitor.

In a fight when his own defeat and life was at hand, yet the opponent stays his killing blow in some self-righteous spiel or some type of mercy, Garou would not accept it, he would tauntingly call it a lost chance of the fools who made the mistake of letting him live rather than finishing him off.

When he was gaining victory and leave those he has hunted and fought, heroes who thinks themselves justified and criminals who think themselves a better evil, broken and dispirited even if they begged for mercy. He would not accept being spared, he would not accept sparing anyone he sees as his next victim and prey...

But this-

_No more fighting! Big brother Bat promised he wouldn't expose me to violence!_

Was such a huge killjoy.

From his lower hand, he briskly flipped it back up against the small hand that gripped the patch, slapping it away. Gon's retreated his hand and patch to his side, looking on for the next strike, but saw the dark hunter then reached up for his own white spiky hair. Scratching the back of his own head.

"Damn. I'm just standing here arguing with a bunch of kids. This got dull real quick. Lost all that energy I built up now..." Garou muttered to himself. His sharp gaze returned to the awaiting children, looking at him with confused eyes.

"...Here's what's going to happen."

He raises his bloody finger at them. "I'm going to take up on that offer you made, little girl."

He surprised them greatly with these words, "But I'll be holding onto that promise," he pointed at Gon, "We'll finish our fight another time. You can bet after this preliminary is over, I'll be on the lookout for you kid, so you and your other friend there behind you better be ready."

His pointed gesture returns to Emma, and he flicked forward his middle finger.

A tiny thing shot for Emma, so sudden and too quick for her to react, it bounced off from her head with a small pinch and landed upon her palms that hurriedly went up for her forehead.

Gon and Killua were startled and rushed to her side. Emma grasped the thing in her right hand, she lowers it while her other hand held onto her forehead. Opening her right hand to show her palm, there that had been tossed to her was the golden star she had given to Garou.

"You can keep those stars," however, Garou revealed the second star he still held in between his fingers, "I'm keeping this one though since this used to be mine."

Ignoring their stunned reaction, he then added without an ounce of hesitation, "I'll follow you, but I _won't_ help you. You do your hunt on your own, and I'll do mine. We're just going to the same place, that's all, and you _better_ hold onto your end of the deal. If you try to trick me, or try to get me killed on purpose..."

He pointed at Emma with a chilling, unrelenting glower, "You're the one who's going to pay for it, and I won't be so merciful this time. Got it?"

Emma gazed at him in stunned quietness, a slow rise of the corners of her mouth, her green eyes vibrant with delight, "Absolutely!"

She can at least try to act a _little_ cautious, Garou irked this to himself. He eyed at her beaming face for another moment, his left nostril twitched at a gruff sniff.

Gon and Killua were frozen in place, the hunter in green surprised by this sudden change of mind by the dark hunter, and Killua so stunned he gawked dumbly. First, this opposing competitor wanted to fight, threatened to steal their stars that were also attached to his vendetta of retaliation against Gon and Killua. Now, this man was coming with them just so he can refuse their willingness to give him their stars, but still needed some way to get more of them for himself.

This guy's pride was just ridiculous. He really is acting like such a kid.

Killua looked at Emma when she rushes down one path that was now muddy, trickles of rain pouring from above yet there was enough cover to walk through.

"Come on! It's this way! We need to get moving while we still have time!" She remembered the direction of the ogre and the map of her Monster Tracker, she shall take lead from here once again. "Let's go!"

Gon and Killua regarded her with another pause. Garou was the first to move and followed after her, his walk with his injured ankle much better coped than yesterday, though his stomach was still spurning with a dull pain. He resisted the urge to turn and punch the source that brought about this apparent and gradually increasing abdominal discomfort.

"...What just happened?" Killua asked dumbfound, as if he might have just blacked out from the severe absurdity of their situation that went from bad, to neutral, to _really_ bad, and then back down to neutral like an indecisive meter.

Gon offered a slow, unsure smile, "I guess... we're traveling with him now."

A ruthless and vigilant hunter, more monstrous than man, following with an intense observance towards the head of Emma, who was unbothered by his close proximity, wearing a cheerful smile as she moves on.

They just had to be met with the strangest people in this competition.

"They're even weirder than you are," Killua told Gon.

Too bemused to feel any offense, Gon merely chuckled behind his grin. "Yeah... but then that means they're even weirder than you!"

Touché.

/.\

A resuming hike across the wilderness, littering water from the sky as the chill breezes through the openings of the large trees. They were closer to the edge of the forest, once they leave this place, they will make their one-day travel to their destination. However, the weather was becoming increasingly harsh, and if they leave this forest now, there will be nothing to protect them overhead.

Even with Gon and Killua's Nen ability - Ken, to defend them from the rain, it cannot be held up for the entire day, while Emma did not possess such ability, let alone knew what Nen is to begin with. If either one of the children were to fall ill after enduring this cold wet climate prolonging, their trip will be further delayed, and more than likely, unfit to properly hunt. They will have to take refuge within the forest until the rain passes.

An hour passes since they left with their new traveling _not_-companion, and the children have found their temporary shelter at an opening beneath a short cliff, boulders stationed at each side as walls, and the top of the cliff extending wide enough to make as their ceiling. Garou refused to follow them in, so the children entered without him.

They set up blankets as their curtains at the entrance, shielding themselves from the cold, humid air. Emma helps Gon set up and start the campfire with some twigs and rocks as their igniter.

Garou awaited outside, far from their company, yet near enough to still remain watchful of their existence. Killua sat beside the entrance as the lookout, peeking through between the boulder and blanket, a wary staring match between him and the dark hunter. The rainfall had since overwhelmed the leaves of the trees and was now clouding relentlessly where they were once traversing on foot, a close call.

"Is he really just sitting out there?"

Emma crawls her way to him on her front hands and knees. This shelter was small, but otherwise manageable for small children like them. Warmth was birthed inside their nature-granted bunker, the light of the campfire bringing an orange glow, and its faint heat a comforting sweater that will dry their damp pieces of clothing soon.

"Yeah," Killua confirmed, returning his sight through the entrance. "He's found himself a spot under a log over there."

Emma slightly pulls aside the blanket curtain, the mild cold of the outside touched her little nose. She looks around briefly until she's found their distant watcher, several feet away from them. He was in a ditch with most of his body hidden, his head shadowed over by a log that was held up by a boulder at one end of the ditch, keeping Garou mostly secured from being soaked by the weather. The sharp glint of his dull gold-like eyes, like a lion watching the three rabbits that hide within their own home, aware of each other's presence.

"He's keeping an eye on us in case we've decided to run and leave him behind," Killua intuitively explained. It was uncertain how far this man would catch up to them, but he felt no confidence in considering it.

"We're not going to run away though." Emma did not share that mindset, her intention keeping true to their deal made with that lone wolfish competitor. "He'll get a cold if he stays out there like that, but I'm more worried about his injuries. It'll be bad for him if he doesn't get it treated."

She starts to think of assembling medicine and bandage wrappings, it wouldn't do any of them good if that man falls into worse shape, and also can hardly imagine the kind of pain he must be feeling. She never saw Garou with a backpack, had he lost it some time ago?

"He'll be fine. Like you said before, that guy's strong," Killua said, and if that competitor does end up keeling over, it will be even better for them. "Besides, it's not like he has any reason to trust us, we're only together until we find Beast Valley. Until then, he'll be keeping his distance from us."

Though remaining worried, Emma retreats her face back to the warm sanctity of their shelter, "He's really stubborn to stay out there in the rain without a fire to keep him warm."

She would have invited that man in, or give him some bandages since it looks like he doesn't have anything to treat his wounds, but he was determined to keep himself from them. She could probably push it onto him, though how that might turn out may risk themselves at another brawl, since he was more than willing to fight them even while hurting.

"Yeah, I get the feeling he's not "all there" upstairs..." Killua leaned back to hid himself from that dark hunter's sight and pointed his own head, exemplifying Garou's. He then turns for their campfire, "I still can't believe you managed to convince him. You know what you did was dumb, right? And you just walked up to him without any care. If he wanted to, he could have just killed you right then and there."

"I don't think so," Emma said confidently. "He might have punched me, which he also didn't do, but I don't think he would have killed me."

"What makes you so sure?"

"He didn't kill me before when he could have."

Gon looked up to them, his hands handling their meals of hunted animal meat gifted by the Kijin clan, cooking them with the fire. "He really didn't harm you at all, huh?"

She shook her head, "Nothing that bad honestly..." Apart from his harsh poking and yanking her around, but nothing of genuine harm.

"Really?" Killua asked, finding it difficult to believe the person they had fought yesterday would have some form of mercy.

Emma huddled herself close, bringing up both her knees, "He told me that since we're competitors, we would have to fight each other. I told him I didn't want to, and... he kind of just left me alone. He might have wanted to hit me. He _could_ have, but didn't."

She rested her chin on her knees, eyes softening with a solemn sadness, "He reminds me of someone else. That someone, when my family and I first met him, he wanted to get rid of us. He was an orphan like me, and was one of the other cattle children who escaped the farms. When they tried to look for a way to get to the Human World, he lost his whole family, and was all alone for so long. He must have hated seeing my family, because it reminded him of his own. He wasn't a bad guy in the end, even for all the times he led us to danger, he was just in so much pain."

She looked at the boys, "I don't know anything about that man outside, but I think deep down, he's not all bad. He did bad things like attacking you guys and that competitor we saw, but... There was just something about him I've noticed a little. He's... I'm not sure how to explain it. It's like, he's not as harsh as he acts."

"His hits sure felt like it," Killua rubbed his cheek as he remembered his fight with that dark hunter, even with his Ken to defend most of the heavy attacks, that competitor's strength was enough for those punches to still be felt. Without knowing how to make his aura into an invisible armor, he and Gon would surely have had suffered broken bones.

Gon looked down in deep thought. "You know... I think you're right, Emma."

She and Killua looked at his way in surprise. "What? You think so too?" Killua asked the boy who just moments ago wanted and was ready to fight with that dangerous competitor. "What makes you say that?"

"You didn't notice?" Gon asked back. "He did try to hurt us, I think he realized that there was something protecting us from most of his punches that would have hurt badly if it reached us fully, so he kept trying to make his punches stronger. But even when he did, even when he tried to keep us down, he never attacked us like he really wanted to kill us."

Killua considered his friend's word, and thought back their fight against that competitor, remembering every move made. While certainly that man's attacks would leave anyone badly beaten, they weren't inflicted to be deadly, only detrimentally. He realized then that Gon was right. Looking back at it, none of that man's punches and kicks were done in a way that would have been better inflicted if they were intended to be fatal. Did that guy go easy on them?

Or maybe since he wasn't sure how to break through their Ken, he was only testing how strong of an attack he has to give in order to best them. With that last thought to consider, they can't be sure if that man wouldn't have intended to kill them if he had successfully broken through their Ken.

"That reminds me!" Emma suddenly said with perked eyes, "I've been thinking about it for a while. How are you guys so strong? I didn't think it was possible for kids to be that tough and stand against someone older like that guy. I mean, I can probably understand Killua, since he was raised in a family of assassins, but what about you Gon?"

She remembered his story of capturing the Lord of the Lake at his home island, how on earth did a boy so young be able to pull in a baby-whale size creature just by himself?

"Me and Killua trained a lot," Gon answered, smiling at the memory. "I've fished and hauled in big catches back at my home island, and would run or climb around the forest almost every day. I've always been active since I was little."

_So was I_, yet even Emma did not think she would be so strong as to pull in such a large haul just by herself, she would need her whole family for that. If she had been that strong, she would have punched down that wall surrounding Gracefield and they would have noticed that cliff much sooner. Although, that would have been far too conspicuous, and mama would have surely found out. Maybe simply being able to hop over that wall that was taller than even the trees would be enough, but she digress.

"There was also something you guys did," she added with a bit of insistence to know more about her new companions, "I didn't see it clearly, but I kind of felt it."

Like needles prickling her skin and goose bumps to crawl her skin. "There was something that happened when you were fighting that man. That last big punch from Gon for example. What was it?"

_She's perceptive,_ Killua noted. Air-headed as she was, to notice something that much about them, and be direct enough to ask them rather than logically dissuade herself that it must have been her imagination, she was actually smart in this way. Perhaps she was the sort of person who had the instinctual sensitivity to notice strong aura, an individual of perceptual aptitude.

"Oh. You must have felt us using Nen."

Killua looked at Gon, surprised at the casual telling. Emma blinked a few times, "Nen?"

"You want to tell her?" Killua asked for certainty from the other boy.

"Sure. Why not? She's been helping us this far. Also, it would be better that she doesn't have to worry about us if she knew," a very sound reasoning that supported the simplicity of Gon's way of thinking. Killua had to nod in agreement. It would be well that she knows. The young ex-assassin looked out through the entrance again, that white silver-haired competitor was still a distance away and eyeing at them, it should be fine so long as that person doesn't overhear this.

"What's Nen?" Emma asked Gon, curiosity flickered in her verdant eyes, reflecting the orange light dancing from the twitching flames of their campfire.

"Well, let's see, how did our teacher Wing explain it to us...?" With a moment to organize his thoughts, Gon then answers Emma his and Killua's knowledge of the power they have been training with for quite some time now.

Nen. The ability to manipulate one's life energy, otherwise known as "aura". All living things have aura that grants them their life, and so all living things are capable of manifesting the technique of Nen. Non-Nen Users are people whose aura continuously leak from their bodies, thus causing them to age as it would be deemed naturally.

However, when a person uncovers the ability to control the "leakage" of their aura, they are able to slow down the aging process by several decades or more, and with vigorous training and the contribution of a person's character, the user will be able to morph their aura into a weapon - this is what Nen is.

There are several complex varieties of Nen, but Gon covered only the basic, as that was as far as he was only capable of without Killua to assist him. Essentially, Nen-Users can strengthen their bodies by infusing their Nen into themselves, and use their aura for means of attack, defense, or any other task to comply with the Nen-users wishes. Gon explains in basic form that he had infused his fist with his aura, a time-consuming ability with destructive results. He called this Nen ability: **Jajaken**.

Gon admits he came up with the name on the fly when he met an opponent who demanded to know the name of his signature move. Killua called it an unimaginative piece of zero effort, which he still makes fun of Gon for. The first "Ja" was actually a stutter, but his opponent at the time mistook it as part of the name, and Gon decided to go with it.

"Turning your aura into a weapon..." Her great amazement dazzling in her expression, Emma then turned to Killua. "Then, did you also used your Nen?"

Killua nodded, "Yeah. It was supposed to stun the guy, but I didn't think he'd be immune to electricity."

"I didn't see anything electrical though..." Emma said, frowning.

"Nen can only be seen by other Nen-users," the young boy in white added. "Few people can actually tell it's there. For a lot, it's practically invisible. All Hunters from our world knew how to use Nen, my family knew too, but not everyone knows about it. It's kept secret from the public so to keep _really_ bad people from knowing how to be even more dangerous. Learning Nen can be tough, and who knows, there might be other competitors here who could use something like it."

"Wow..." Emma said. "That's really awesome..."

So humans could indeed be so powerful. She wondered how it could have been, if she and other humans in her world, would have learned Nen? Would they have had a better chance against the demons? Would the demons also know Nen? If so, then it would have left the war between Humans and Demons at an impasse, except with a greater body-count than it already was long ago in her world.

But she wondered if humans had not known how to have the power to make them stronger, but they had later on, wouldn't that make a whole world of a difference? Wouldn't it keep her family much safer and much ahead of those who desired to drag them back to their kennel?

With that kind of power, the last she would want to do with it is to kill, but if it can be used to protect her family...

"It really does sound like it, huh?" Killua said. "It helped us get out of a lot of situations. We wouldn't have survived long as Hunters without knowing Nen, it was basically a requirement."

"Which makes that guy we fought really,_ really_ strong!" Gon said, although previously holding a grudge against that dark hunter, his eyes were vibrant with impressed. "People who don't know Nen wouldn't have been able to fight against someone who does. Our teacher Wing tells us that normal people wouldn't survive a direct Nen-based attack."

"So for that guy to not be dead even after Gon hit him with his Jajaken," Killua said, "He really wasn't someone to mess with. I hate to think how he'd be if he _did_ learn Nen."

It was a thought that actually made him and Gon shudder inside. Emma looked out the blanketed entrance for the unseen dark hunter, in quiet contemplation.

/.\

The sky darkened as the rain continues. Garou took a guess that it was getting close to nighttime. He settled in a ditch that allowed him a clear view of the small shelter the three young competitors took house in.

The rain and cold temperature was not a bother to him, he had once for a while took training at the mountains during the coldest of climate after his Master banished him from the dojo.

He had lived the life of a bum, the most freed way of living, and took to harsh environments rather quickly, though not easily. This weather was easy to relax under, though he remained on attentive alert for if the children competitors were to move at any moment.

A rumble of lightning in the cloud-filled sky with a faint flash of light, it prickled his skin from his heightened senses to the vibration of the sound. He remembered getting struck by lightning once.

Wasn't a pleasant experience. Pretty sure he passed out and probably died until he was brought back, and they say lightning never strikes twice. He was certain God was trying to get under his skin.

Well too bad for the Man in the Sky, the hunter of heroes was still kicking, and shouted just as much with a hardy boisterous laugh, regardless of how it made him look. There wasn't anyone around to see anyway.

"Ngh..." He grumbled, rubbing his stomach. This had been the longest pain he had to endure, over a day and it was still throbbing underneath the skin of his abs, it was starting to concern him. He probably just needs to keep sleeping it off, it usually goes away like that, at least until he catches something big to fill up his stomach, that'll do away the injury real quick, by ceasing his hunger.

When the surroundings became so dark that it was certain night had come, he lies against the dirt. He made sure he could keep his focus on the children's whereabouts. That kid in white might throw him off with that disappearing presence skill, and it's likely that the other boy could do it too.

That girl didn't seem to know it though, she would have done it while she had the lead before Garou had caught up to her. He will just have to pay close attention to her specifically, and those other boys should undoubtedly be close.

He'll know immediately if they decide to run or even sneak away from him. Garou is always a vigilant man, far more vigilant than those shameless heroes who get drunk on a whim than being worried about any ambush or attack from either criminal or monster, and _those_ drunks are the heroes people _rely_ on. It was disgusting.

Rolling to his side, he sighed out deeply through the mouth, holding onto his stomach as he takes his rest. The endless drops of rain prattling against the log above his head, like a hollow melody of wood being beaten lightly.

/.\

Day 5.

The rain stopped. Morning sun streams like glorious angled curtains made out of light showered the entire forest. Emma, Gon, and Killua woke up, Garou popped his back with a single stretch, a sweet relief to his spine, though not as sweet as his still apparent stomach-ache. He really ought to punch that kid in green just one time. He'll have his vengeance one day.

Stepping out of their shelter, Emma's eyes adjusted to the luminous daytime. The sky was cleared and very blue. Forest animals delighted their noises in good mornings. Emma stretched her arms as Gon and Killua followed in suite.

"Alright!" She turns to her group. Gon picking up and putting on his backpack. Killua putting away the last of their things and regarded her with a cool, yet friendly gaze, his pale hands in his pocket. Garou held the side of his neck, a pop at the slight tilt of his head. He was less bloodied now, taking advantage of the freshly fallen rain that made into a puddle beside the foot of his ditch and washed himself most of his own blood away (it was incredible how he didn't seem to develop pneumonia). A short roll of his shoulder that lets out another crack before his narrowed gaze heeded her.

"It'll take us a day to reach where we need to go. If we hustle, we might be there just before tonight, and we can get to work the next morning."

Two days remained. They must make their efforts count this very moment. "Let's do our best!"

"Osu!" Gon shared her enthusiasm. Killua nodded before cautiously side-glancing at Garou, who felt his eyes and send back his own suspicious glare.

They then began their trek towards an exit out of this area, and to the hidden place where endless bounty awaits.

_Collection of Point Badges._

_[Emma: 2 stars.]_

_[Gon: 3 stars.]_

_[Killua: 3 stars.]_

_[Garou: 2 stars.]_

_Number of badges required: **5 stars**._

The hunt was on for this group of four.

/.\

They had reached the edge of the forest. Climbing over one final, massive root that was the size of a house, the children slid down until their feet touched upon the grassed ground, Garou stood above them, glaring down at the three youngsters, and taking heed of the new plain they were entering.

It was a massive field. Nothing but grassy hills, and few flowers everywhere. A grassland. From far away, the dark blue silhouette of mountains. Judging by its distance, it'll take a while to reach there on foot. The little girl mentioned how it was a day-long journey, which would leave them only two days to gather five stars in time. This day will be spent trying to get to the place where these children are going for, and likely longer to seek out the entrance to this valley.

Glancing down at the children who were discussing amongst themselves. Garou was certain the little girl had checked something from her vest pocket before looking up and spoke to him, informing him that they are going to start jogging straight ahead, an essence to their vigilance.

He watches them start running ahead, the two boys catching up with her in ease. Hopping down from the root, he leisurely follows after them with long steps, if they think to escape him now, he most certainly will not allow them to. He has his intention to keep a close eye on them.

/.\

They traveled across the seemingly endless, serene field. A beautiful clear blue sky, as if the rain yesterday never happened. One would think that this would be an opportune time for monsters to be apparent here, but at a closer inspection, as they walked across the hills, they found no sign of monsters, but evidence of battle. Meteor-size impacts to the ground, trenches that were carved unnaturally by some kind of a large sharp weapon, other sights that were blackened from burnt, or lay shattered of the earth, and all other things from the aftermath of a demonstrated ability from several competitors.

Emma was marveled by it all, and wondered endlessly what other sorts of abilities do the other competitors have, like Gon and Killua, or like the young mister following behind them, who used extraordinary fighting styles she was sure was martial arts, and only knows of it from books.

But his strength and attacks were so swift, quick, and powerful, was it based on some other strength like what Gon and Killua relied on? Or were they really from his own humanly capabilities? If so, how? How could he have achieved such awe-struck strength and speed? Or that man with the explosive touch? How were they so strong?

_Maybe it's different for people living in other worlds_, Emma considered. She would have liked to seek that kind of strength had she known it was possible to do so, just for how cool it was. Maybe she would have had the power to carry that bazooka she saw at the underground shelter hidden weapon storage.

Though personally, she preferred a peaceful life, but wouldn't mind being that strong either. Just like how she saw mama to be...

/.\

They ventured on. For several hours, rarely do they stop for only a brief minute. The nice peaceful scenery, though rather uneventful if unaccounted for the lingering looming presence that kept himself at a certain distance, not too far but not too close, as he observed them in follow. Emma was not as disturbed as Gon and Killua were wary, holding her Monster Tracker in both hands.

"-I remember this one time, there was a holiday mom introduced to us called Easter. She made an activity where everyone has to find one-hundred eggs. All of us wanted to find the most eggs, and it was really fun looking for them," Emma idly tells an old memory of her time at the Gracefield House. They ought to fill the rest of this long trip with _some_ conversation. "Me, Norman, and Ray were able to find the most, but there was one egg was that still missing. We all decided to work together then and searched the whole forest until it got so late. Norman ended up finding it hiding in the library, he was always so good at finding things."

"That's really cool. My aunt Mito and I painted Easter eggs and left them outside our houses as decorations. Wild animals would sometimes think they were real eggs and would try to eat them or take care of them. It was kind of funny," Gon told his story, a wonderful smile at the recollection, "Those eggs were so much fun to make, we made a lot of them! Aunt Mito was the best painter!"

"Mm," Killua hummed, "I never did any of that stuff, my family was never interested in holidays."

"Well then we _definitely_ have to show you!" Emma insisted.

Gon immediately agreed with her, "Yeah! We should! We could find some eggs or make some shells ourselves and paint over them!"

"It's fine guys," Killua dismisses, "It doesn't sound like anything I'd be into anyway."

"We should still do it!" Emma asserted, Gon nodding along. "It'll be fun! You'll see!"

"You know, you really are pushy," Killua told her. "Does your family ever tell you that?"

"It's called encouragement," Emma reiterates, aware of her own self. "But anyway, you should really try it!"

"I'll pass," Killua disregarded with ease.

Garou remained watchful as the three child competitors talked without a care in the world. He'll let them have their blissful moment, but once they officially enter this competition, it's fair game between them. He side-glanced the area that had traces of furious engagement between strong opponents of various abilities. Opponents whom he should be more careful to cross, less he would have himself at the end of a powerful fist from the unassuming, or suffer that short-handed result against that man with the deadly touch.

Remembering that encounter which his wounds were still healing from, Garou still couldn't believe that such a technique existed. A skill that made his skin crawl, and muscles explode as it did. To cause people's bodies to implode at a simple graze? It was a terrifying ability that would shake the entire Martial Arts community, if not the entire world of which Garou hailed from.

Garou had barely noticed what was being done to him, he wasn't even sure even though he had_ realized_ something was happening between his quick assault, but mistakenly thought it to be that man's poor attempt to defend himself. He never imagined it was just pokes, and he'd never imagined what would have come from it. And to think, if what that man was being truthful, that technique was used with just a _small percentage_ of power. He wouldn't have likely survived at its fullest, this he had to suspect and admit if he is to somehow overcome it.

_How would I fight against someone that can kill me up close?_ Garou pondered. If direct contact will only promise severe damage or death, then he would have to keep his distance, use range attacks somehow. Throw some rocks or boulders if he has to, even swing a tree at him. It was a cheap tactic, but against that sort of ridiculous fighting style, he had to make do with anything he could to win.

It was unfortunate that he wasn't able to get a good look at how that man imposed that ability of his, he wonders if he even_ wants_ to learn it. Such a messy outcome was far more than the opponents Garou has left bleeding and limbs decapitated, a single touch not only means an eruption of the human insides, but also instant death at the precise inflictions.

One touch would mean an automatic loss for those under the pointed mercy of that finger. It was such a ridiculously unfair power Garou wanted to laugh as if to cry.

_These competitors seriously are the real deal_, Garou thought to himself,_ even stronger than most of the heroes I've fought_.

This is just what he needed. This what he has been hoping for. If he could defeat every strong opponent he comes across in this competition, witness others fighting abilities he can copy and impose, he'll be capable of facing against every hero in his world, against the S-Class heroes: King, Terrible Tornado, and even the top dog himself - Blast. To endure this competition, he will become the strongest monster.

_Boom..._

A sudden subtle sound grasped his attention, clipping his instincts with a subdued shrill. His thoughts erased and dropping his eager smile, he stopped, turning his head fully towards one end of the forest and as far as he could see the field. A faintest, vibration of something fallen upon the earth. Nothing was seen, however. Just more shapes of the distant mountains. A few birds suddenly flew from field, startled to flight, though only he witnessed this.

He heard ceased steps from the children and looked back. Gon had stopped, curious eyes looking at the very same direction Garou was. Had he felt something too? The boy in white and the girl of orange hair continued their walk, neither of them seemed to have noticed, only those with the strongest, instinctual animal-like senses as honed as Garou's and Gon's could have caught it. It was a very far away sound, beyond several dozens of miles at least, as if something heavy from the other side of the horizon had hit the ground.

"What about Children's Day?" Emma inquired to delve into Killua's knowledge of holidays. Living in the sort of enclosed life as she had, she has only ever known a few holidays.

"Ah. I've heard of it," Killua answered. "Don't really see the point of it. What do you even do on that day?"

"I don't really know. I didn't get it either, but mom wanted to do it for some reason and we all just followed along. We made white helmets out of paper and ate rice cake."

"That sounds like something only little kids do."

"I mean, you _are_ a kid..."

Gon snapped his focus back to the leading children and he hurries after them. Garou paid longer attention to that one direction he felt a sensation from, his eyes narrowing for a moment before then proceeding his follow of the younger competitors.

/.\

It was a relatively dull trip, which Emma did not mind at all. Under normal circumstances, it would be most welcomed, but a lack of monsters is a sign that all the other competitors have indeed cleared this grass field area as well, and with what they have seen of other holders are stars, more than five are indeed being collected. It seems rather excessive that so many would hunt over more than what is required, perhaps there were multiple reasons, or perhaps the other entrees were just that competitive.

When day went and night came, they were much closer to the mountains, its snow-top region and colossal size that reached hundred-thousands of meters, a dirt plain with forests surrounding the territory. Emma, Gon, and Killua take rest beside a small cliff. The grassland that they traveled through long behind them and could be seen at a distance, in between them and the grassland was a red-brown stone field that stretched for several miles and shone under the moonlight like a frozen glow-tinted sea, cracks of the ground for its lack of hydrant sources, with only a few green shrubs in small sizes at some places.

Garou was near, though he went somewhere without giving a reason. Emma had thought to share their food garnered by the kindness of the Kaji clan, but a quick glance at the returning dark hunter and he found him carrying over his shoulder a dead _cougar_ of all things, the first she has ever seen.

Her monster tracker was unable to detect other life forms including wild animals, so while it was evident that he had hunted the creature for himself (she never thought eating a cougar was a thing people of other worlds do), it was helpful that he had looked out for any wild animals that would have taken Emma by surprise, with much amazement that he had done it with his bare hands.

Emma stared as Garou walked to the other side of the cliff, until Killua ushered her the food that was done cooking by their campfire, offering her a stick the held small chunks of beef meat. Taking the stick, she thought of the monster clan. It was fortunate that she was able to convince that dark hunter to come.

If that man hadn't been appeased, she worried that he would have eventually discovered the Kijin clan if he had remained in that forest. Whether he would have fought all of them for just one star he can only achieve per different monster, it was a safer bet this way to keep them allusive. She hoped that the Kijin clan were recovering well, even though, if it is true, that they would disappear by the end of this Preliminary, everyone should be allowed to live their lives in peace.

"You should leave him alone," She heard Killua said to her as she takes a bite out of the beef, and eyed him curiously.

"You heard that guy, he doesn't plan on helping us while we're traveling together," the young assassin further mentioned, "It's also obvious that he isn't interested in getting to know us. We're adverse with each other as it is."

He takes a bite of his food as Emma thought over his saying. "Even with our aura as shields, his attacks still hurt," he added. "You kind of did us a favor, avoiding a fight with him at least until the end of the week. What you did was still reckless, but I think this ended up being for the best."

"He's trying to say thanks," Gon said. Killua sent a childish glare his way and Gon merely smiled in a cheeky manner.

"Really though," Gon looked to Emma, "you've been so willing to help us this far. I'm really grateful. We'll definitely get our five stars, and we're going to make sure we'll help you too! You can count on us!"

Emma graciously smiled, "Thank you. I'll do the same for you guys. We'll win this preliminary together!"

"Tomorrow's the sixth day," Killua reminded, his eyes focused on this very fact, "We'll have to hustle, rest while we still can and start before sunrise."

Emma and Gon agreed and cheered "Right!" And resumed their eat together under the star-filled sky, chewing their food as Garou behind the cliff ate the leg of his captured predator turned prey in lone content.

/.\

A little trail of white-gray smoke rises from the put-out fire of the cooling branches. Emma laid against the cliff on her side, her eyes half-opened slowly, turning on her back. The sky was still dark, the crescent shape moon behind a cloud at the closing edge of the horizon. She hears the soft snoring of Gon at the other side of the campfire, and Killua silently sleeping on his side near her beside the cliff. She looked over to the boys, seeing only Killua's back and Gon's peaceful expression.

She quietly sat up, rubbing her cramped neck and rolling her shoulder that had been pressed against the hard surface of the ground they laid on.

She stiffened at a low grumble somewhere behind her, turning to see nothing there, but her mind immediately reminded her of their distant, barely non-hostile associate who was traveling with them. She quietly stood up, careful steps so as not to wake the boys.

She walked around the cliff as she continued to hear strained noises of minor pain.

"Maybe I shouldn't have eaten that cougar raw..." She heard. When she reached the other side of the cliff, there she saw their joined traveler sitting on the ground, slightly hunched over. The muscles on his dark back could still be seen even under this low-lit night, his black shirt of torn places from his exploded wounds.

He stopped his complaint as soon as she saw him and turned his head, his sharp eyes like a pair of tiny gold lights that stared right at her, an animal of silver hair in the midst of darkness. Emma immediately stopped all movements, locked by his gaze that sends a shot of fear through her veins, fleeting but a lasting impression.

"A..." She started, her voice at first quiet, "Are you okay?"

He stared for another moment, "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Emma was startled by his diverted question, rubbing her fingers, "Uh, I heard a noise. Are you hurting? I have some medicines." Healing medicines that were natural-based, as taught to her by Sonju and Musica.

"Don't want them." He returned looking at the open, vacant land.

"Are you sure? I don't think I've seen you wrap up your wou-" Her eyes trained at his figure once more, and they widened, "Wait. Are your wounds healed already? H-how...?"

Looking at him longer, through the torn open places of his shirt, his flesh was fully repaired. Not a drop of blood or even healing bruises that usually comes from such a trauma to the body, as if he never received devastating attacks. It stunned Emma. How could a human be healed this quickly? Was it an ability of his? Was he something other than human after all?

"I'm fine," he told her. "Just needed something in my stomach and I'll be good to go."

"O-oh? That's... really amazing." She's heard how enough nutrition would benefit the body's development, but she never thought it could be this instantaneous.

He looked back at her, his face mute, observing her quietly like a perched wolf, attentive.

"I'm Emma, by the way," The little girl said. "The boy with dark hair is Gon, and the other one is Killua. Can you tell me your name, mister?"

"No. Why would I?"

He directly stated like it was a dumb question he answered to, less that he was being intentionally rude, like affirmatively uninterested in sharing his lunch that was rightfully his.

Taken only slight aback, Emma recovered. "Why not?" She asked him just as direct, blinking.

He turned himself fully, though he remained seated. He pointed at her, "I'm still angry at you, kid. I'm barely tolerating your friends as it is. We're just heading for the same direction, that's all."

"But I want to know more about you mister," Emma insisted. "Like... what kind of fighting was that? That you did against that snake monster?"

"I'm the kind of guy that likes to keep things to himself," Garou deflected before catching his interest at her last question. "You've never seen Martial Arts before?"

"I've only heard a little bit of it, and only in books. My foster mother never wanted us to learn more about it though," it was most likely so that neither of the children, as precious products, would hurt themselves or each other, or know even the slightest knowledge of self-defense so to be less of a struggle when they were being taken for shipping.

"You're an orphan?" He craned his head to the side. Odd how he wants nothing to reveal himself, yet he's now curious about the girl to ask her questions. Emma took it to be friendly almost, even if he is holding his grudge.

Emma nodded, "I live in an orphanage with several other kids," she held her hands together as a sweet clutch at the mention of it, "We weren't related by blood, but I think of them as my family. Do you have a family?"

There were two that took the role of parental figures. One, a father, one, his Master. The memories resurfaced like a passing leaf, of enduring moments that indulged in hardship, as well as peace.

"...Used to. Not any more," Garou answered without a hint of emotion, still staring at her.

"Oh. I'm sorry..." A hurtful look as she heard that, several reasons could have lead to the meaning of his answer, but the idea of no longer being with a beloved family was the saddest thing to imagine by the girl.

And Garou did not like the look of it at all. He just gave an answer, he didn't want to be pitied by it.

"Not your problem," he rises to his feet, "Look, I'm not the one asking what _your _personal life is like."

Her sadness is replaced with a confused look, "You just asked if I was an orphan."

"...That's different," he asserts after a blank pause, and no elaboration to justify how it was, "and you're the one who gave it away."

"It's fine for me if you asked," she offered quaintly.

"Well I'm not going to," Garou denied it, grabbing his waist and leaned sideways, looking right behind her, "Especially when someone's eavesdropping."

"Guh-!"

Emma spun around at the sound of two voices behind her. Gon showed his head around the cliff, "How did you know we were-?!"

"Don't just show yourself!" The unmistakable voice of Killua as pale hands pulled Gon's shoulders back into hiding, pointless as it was.

A dispassionate glare from Garou, his grudge against those boys still very apparent, "Sorry, but I'm not looking to get familiar with anyone here. We're still competitors, getting friendly won't end nicely for any of us. Better keep that in mind."

He gestured with waving fingers around the other side of the cliff, "Now gets some sleep, we'll be on the move at dawn. That's what you said. So you better have enough energy to get us where we need to go."

Emma regarded him momentarily, arms at her side with a thoughtful look.

"Alright, but I'll still want to know more about you, and you can ask anything about me too if you want. It'll be important if we're going to help each other, so you should be a little closer when we go search for the entrance to Beast Valley."

She starts back for the cliff, "Good night," she added pleasantly. Garou had his gaze at her small back until she rounded the corner of the cliff. He then sat back down. Lying on his back with his arms crossed behind his head, and stared up at the stars.

If she was just an ordinary civilian, he might have been a little nicer, but they were competitors, and he cannot be careless around potential opponents, just as he had been with those boys, and others he came across. Such was the way of this harsh reality, the way which he himself despised.

The common reality of life and the world he will one day turn over its head.

/.\

"Ow!" A hand chop to her head, gentle but hefty enough that it would hurt. Emma grabbed the top of her head, looking on in startled pain and a muffled shriek, confused round green eyes blinking at Killua.

"What do you think you were doing?" Killua demanded from her. "Geez, you really don't listen, do you?" She and Gon really are just _too_ alike.

"That was a little mean..." Gon said about his friend's action and puffing his cheeks in offense to Killua's jab at him.

"Yeah right, I was being _nice_," Killua declared in deadpan.

"I was just talking to him..." A complaint from Emma as she rubbed her head suffering in soreness

"Yeah? How did that go?" Killua asked.

Her face turned determined and her words were firm, "Really well! I'm sure it'll be better tomorrow."

"You..." He sighed, rubbing his head. "Whatever, come on. Let's get some sleep, we still have a few more hours. If getting into Beast Valley might lead us to monsters immediately, we all better have enough energy to fight."

Emma and Gon nodded in understanding. They moved to return to their sleeping spots, Emma still holding onto her head as she sourly mumbled her hurting. Killua watched them go, though his eyes turned serious as he looked back to the direction of where their thus far non-hostile wolfish competitor lie.

_He knew that we were watching, even though we were using **Zetsu**..._ His outward appearance was collected, but a chill had traveled up to his spine. _That guy... he really is dangerous..._

* * *

**A/N: I will now be answering questions.**

**_Maxim7_: Hi Maxim7. Yeah! Garou is a beast under life-threatening cases that makes him even stronger before, but I think that since Kenshiro's technique was so baffling and it kept him down, he needed a short time to get used to it and cope with his damaged joints before he would be ready to fight back with his all, which he would know was risky if he is touched again by Kenshiro.**

**He would have definitely forced himself to stand up even with damaged joints and fight for his life if Emma didn't use the Flash bullet, which led Garou to take this chance to fall back and away from the deadly fighter, re-thinking his approach to fight Kenshiro another day.**

**If Garou had seen how Kenshiro used his technique, Garou would try to copy it, but because Kenshiro was discreet, Garou barely noticed and didn't see. He'll likely experiment the trick of getting people's muscles to blow up. It was read in Fist of the North Star, one supposed Genius fighter there - the Toki imposter, tried to mimic the technique but with failing results.**

**Garou would call this imposter a "hack of a genius", and personally I believe he would have better results imposing the Hokuto No Ken, although it will take several trials and errors with the use of dummies as his targets, as Garou wouldn't want to carelessly blow people up. He leaves so many people he's fought bleeding and beaten and broken and all kinds of messed up, but I think even he would see the Hokuto No Ken at it's fullest potential to be a bit too messy. (Also another reason, which is a defining trait of Garou.)**

**I hope you've noticed that hint with Garou complaining on the tree in Chapter 5 and in this chapter as well. If you remember Hunter x Hunter when Gon and Killua fought Rammot during the Chimera Ant Arc, after Rammot got hit with Gon's Jajaken, he suffered a long while afterward until his nen was unlocked. Essentially, if the person who faces a Nen-infused punch and survives, their aura unlocks.**

**Since Garou is such a badass with insane pain tolerance, he's gonna push back the pain like a total champ for a few more days until he can't anymore, and then... well, we know what will happen.**

**I guess you can say that Gon's Jajaken was still affecting Garou when he decided to face Kenshiro. Garou was not at his 100%, and if no one is at 100% against Kenshiro, then even against Kenshiro at his 1%, it would have been a hopeless battle to land a devastating hit at the manliest man of all anime men, especially if they're even a decent fighter. Life has always been so unfair to Garou...**

**If you have any more questions, I shall answer them to the best of my ability and if there are some mistakes I made concerning the characters and their powers, please feel free to express them in the reviews and I shall correct my mistake at once. I try to make it as accurate as possible with character personalities. Thank you again for your review! I look forward to reading your next one if you would!**

**_vwheel10 and 1020_: You got it! It's a reference to That time I got Reincarnated as a Slime! Good catch! There will be several more anime references down the line. Gotta Catch 'em All!**

**Thank you for reading. Until next time!**


	8. Beast Valley

Chapter 8: Beast Valley

It was dusk before dawn. The group had awoken early before the sun showed itself and started for the forest of dark green leaves. Garou barely achieved enough sleep, the pained rumble in his stomach had subsided and his energy was considerably restored after he ate that cougar, but he wasn't feeling in top form completely yet. He'll just have to continue on regardless. Whether he was fully prepared or not, nothing was ever guaranteed to be in his favor, he has to make due with it himself.

Garou is determined to give his payback to that kid in green clothing, and that kid in white too. For now, until he can obtain all five stars again, he'll tolerate those two while they make way through this forest, searching for the supposed hidden valley, growing closer to the mountain.

"Do you think we should split up?" Emma asked the other children, looking at her Monster Tracker. "I'm not getting any reading of other monsters in the area. It looks like there are a few caves this map is showing."

She showed Gon and Killua the tracker, the side of the mountain stretching beyond the fifty-meter radius, with indentations within the mountain walls that were depicting cave entrances.

"Sounds good, it'll help speed things up," Killua said. "All we're looking for is a cave that has golden pebbles and a sweet smell inside, right?"

Emma and Gon confirmed, bobbing their heads. As they ponder who should go with who (a discussion needed due to the presence of their fourth follower), Emma turned to Garou. "Do you want to check the cave that way? Me and my friends are thinking of checking the ones over there separately."

A hard blink from Garou. "As if. I'm coming with you."

His blunt declaration startled them. Garou pointed at her, "I still don't trust you, so I'm gonna be sticking with you like glue and find that cave you're looking for."

It was a proposition neither Gon or Killua expected. Emma offered to reason with the man, "It'll save us some time if we split up though."

"Then we'll split up," Garou easily answered, pointing at the boys. "Those two can stay together. You and I are going to go look elsewhere."

"Hold on," Killua said, intervening at once. The last thing they need is for their sole leading navigator to be with a dangerous guy like this. "How about Emma goes with Gon, I go my way and you can follow behind me-"

"Not happening," The dark hunter said before Killua could finish. "I'm not letting any of you kids get the chance to leave me behind," a firm rebuke as his intense stare returned to Emma.

"You're gonna be my insurance, kid. You said you wanted me to be a little closer to you? Well, I'm doing it. Now you'll have to prove you'll keep your end of our deal, by making sure I can still see you."

To keep at reach the girl who was not as fast as those friends of hers, she would be the first Garou will capture if indeed they decided to book it now. He was not a blind fool, he saw how she was relying on that device she has been looking at all this time. Following her may be a better bet to find what they were looking for than he should spend the next moment fighting the urge to hit one or both of those boys in the head. Plus, if they do intend to escape, he has their friend here who he was sure they can't leave behind.

Emma thought about it quietly. "Hey, even if we _do_ want to escape," Killua irritably argued that they were wasting a moment to have this conversation, "You think we'll just leave after there's only one more day left? This might be our last chance to get our five stars. We're not going anywhere until we find the valley."

Gon then suggested, his eyes only showing honesty, "If you really don't trust us, you can follow me instead. I won't try to run away, and I won't lead you to a trap either."

Killua was just about to argue with the boy. Garou glared at him, "The last person I want to be with is _you_, you little twerp. I still owe you one for that punch you threw at me, and I'm not promising that I won't try if we_ do_ go together."

He returned his pointed finger to Emma and reaffirmed his unmoved decision, "Either I go with her, or we're staying together. You don't like that? Too bad. She got me to agree with leaving you kids alone, so she's going to be responsible for it."

Killua's teeth gritted, _This guy..._

There was no way he could agree to that. Killua did not trust this person at all. While he doesn't think Garou would do anything to harm their only navigator who has the means to guide them to Beast Valley, this man was unpredictable, and if the girl does something that could set him off angrily, or worse yet, if he finds out that all this time she was able to lead because of that Monster Tracker that worked also as a map, he might snatch for himself. By then, he would have no need of Emma anymore, and that may as well be his chance to leave Gon and Killua in the dust.

"Okay." Before the risk of this exchange could be calculated, Emma complied. "We'll go look together then."

The weight of her answer like a boulder slamming Killua's head, though at this point he should not be so surprised by her, the girl who invited this rogue man to come. Gon blinked at the girl. "Are you sure?"

Emma smiled at the boys, "It's fine. We need to hurry anyway." Rather than waste time arguing, they should be on the move at once.

Like a willing hostage, she walked up to the intimidating young man, "Let's go, mister! We'll take the one on the right over there."

Garou kept his estranged attention on the girl as she moved for that direction, and followed her. She waved at the boys, "There are at least about three cave entrances over that way! We'll meet back here later, okay?"

Gon and Killua watched as the little fodder led the prowling wolf to one side of the forest, herself to rely on to deal with his antagonistic company. "Honestly, that girl..." Killua muttered.

What if they do find the cave entrance? How can they be sure Garou won't just kill her after fulfilling her purpose? Dammit, if he could, he would follow them, but that man's instincts are inhumanly good, even while they were using Zetsu last night, that man was still able to tell their presence. It was ridiculous! They'll be noticed at once if they decide to follow, and who knows what that would bring up.

But they also can't afford to waste any more time now. They have to look through every nook and cranny, and in the worst-case scenario, it'll take them all day before they would finally discover the cave to the hidden valley. They had to split up to cover more grounds.

"Let's hurry and search the caves," As if recognizing the indecisive debate in Killua's mind, Gon motivated his friend with these words. He was worried as well, but he had faith that Garou wouldn't harm Emma without reasonable cause, that man has been keeping his promise so far, after all "If we look through the caves quickly, we can meet up with Emma sooner."

It was so far the only thing they could do, Killua evidentally nodded, and together they head for another direction of the forest for the mountain.

/.\

The eyes of the dark hunter stared into the glowing screen of Emma's Monster Tracker as his form loomed over her smaller figure. His cascading shadow did not bother Emma, remaining focused and calm as they follow the easier trail for one of the caves.

"Where'd you get that?" A question from Garou about the device she was holding, it was so sudden Emma's heart jumped before small happiness bloomed, this was the first he initiated conversation.

"A friend I met days ago gave me this," she answered, "It can track monsters and also map our surroundings. With this, we can thoroughly look for any caves near the mountain. My friend told me that the entrance to the cave that leads to Beast Valley has to be a cave that has golden-like pebbles and a sweet aroma from the exotic flowers the valley has."

"Hm," a hum from Garou, interested perhaps? They reached a boulder and Emma climbed over it, proficient in maneuvering obstacles that were constant in Gracefield, so something as small as this was nothing so troubling. Garou waited for her until she reached the other side before he followed after, his hand pressed at the top of the boulder and he leaped a single time, meeting her right away, and they reached the wall of the mountain.

"I also use it to avoid monsters that I have no idea how to hunt without knowing its weakness or strength," Emma continuously explained. "At this rate though, I'll have to take my chances. If we can get a piece of the monster we've come across though and have this tracker examine it, it'll be able to tell us any weak points it might have."

"That's a pretty useful thing to have," Garou said, actually impressed.

Emma agreed, "There was one monster I've hunted that was poisonous, I wouldn't have known about it if the villagers I met didn't tell me, and I even confirmed it when the tracker examined its scale. It wasn't hard to catch, but it turned out to be a lot more dangerous because of how potentially lethal it was." She smiled then, "Hunting that monster, it's how I met Gon and Killua. We all caught it at the same time and decided to share it between us, and each one of us got a star out of it."

"You kids didn't enter this competition together?" Garou asked, idly conversing. He might as well have _something_ to pass the time.

"No. Gon and Killua did. I came by myself," she walked along the mountainside for several feet, "If I had known I could have invited someone to participate with me, I would have brought Ray. He's my foster brother. He's one of the smartest boys in our family."

A little small smile, "Killua actually reminds me a lot of Ray. Like, _a lot_. They even sound alike too. It's kind of weird..."

Not to mention Killua also having a similar appearance to Norman, with the cool and calculating personality of Ray, yet a sense of mischievous playfulness that reminded her of her own self. Killua is honestly a nice boy, a boy who has lived a too cold and too harsh of a life for anybody to go through, yet he could still smile and joke with Gon like any normal kid would. It was hard to keep the thought that he had been raised as an assassin.

Her family would have had adored him, and Gon too, especially. All her siblings and herself had been raised with the belief to never judge others, treat everyone kindly, and always attempt to understand, to love.

Of course, that belief was challenged as soon as their angel of a mother and their reason for living was exposed. She had kept her faith in Ray, no matter him working as a spy for Mama, because it wasn't to save himself, but to save Emma and Norman, even if it meant sacrificing himself. But unlike Ray who was in fact a good person granted with such a terrible burden, Emma had to go against her foster mother, an active threat against her family.

For a moment, Emma did have hopes that her mother was a good person also, it was understandable for anyone wanting to survive, and even though Emma hated how her loving mother could allow the deaths of so many children, members of her own family, Emma wanted to believe that Isabella did genuinely love her children. That their Mama would do anything to protect them, _never_ willingly lead them to harm or harm them herself.

But the moment she saw that cold eyes of her Mama, firmly holding Emma's ear that used to be done in endearing affection, but was then done to check her pulse for the rhythm of Emma's heartbeat, to catch Emma in a lie that she knew nothing of what happened to Conny. Mama's reveal of her true character, her deranged view of giving all her love for the short life of her children, never intending to change that or let them free, help them escape, and even tried to convince Emma through that instinctual need to survive, abandon her siblings, save herself than anyone else. Emma thought she knew her loving, kind, amazing mom, she had faith in that.

_Don't go, Emma. My sweet, precious children..._

But Mama had been an enemy.

"Hey, kid."

A shove to the side of her head by a harsh push of Garou's finger, Emma awoke from her thoughts. "You still here?" He asked her.

"Ah! Sorry. I was remembering something..." Rubbing the side of her head, she looked down on her Monster Tracker as Garou observed her silently. "...Huh?"

She looked ahead of her, and back down at the device with a puzzled frown. "What?" Garou ushered her.

"The map says that there's a cave here..." She looked back up and in front of them.

In front of them, a large extension at the foot of the mountainside that was bigger than both their figures, several grayish-dark blue rocks at its corners and on the ground. Emma walked up to it and at a closer inspection, this extension was actually a separate thing. Likely to have fallen from a higher level of the mountain.

Emma went to its edge, rubbing off the dirt and rock dust as Garou followed her, eyeing whatever she was looking for. It was so thin she could hardly see, but there was a line between the boulder and mountain. "It has to be hiding behind this rock!"

"Is it now?" Garou saw it as well, and takes a step back as Emma looks down at the rocks. Lowering herself, she grabbed one of them and rolled it aside with a hefty push.

"If we move these rocks out of the way," Emma said, "we might be able to push the boulder aside or-"

Garou spread his feet, he curled his fingers and baring his fist, and his body dashed forward, like a fleeting image with a thrust of his arm. The boulder shattered on impact, Emma jumped away and ducked, covering her head with her arms as pebbles scattered everywhere, raining over themselves. When it eventually stopped, Emma peeked over her shoulder.

"Huh. You're right. There is one here."

Garou's vocal confirmation echoed deep through the entrance of the hidden cave. His fist or fingers bore no scratches from his punch, dusting himself off the dust and pebbles from his shoulders and twin-spiky hair. Emma rushed closer, putting aside her amazement of yet another show of his strength, looking by his side and to the newly exposed cave of the mountain wall that leads deeper into darkness.

She jolted in remembrance of a crucial information, forging her amazement, she immediately looked down in search. She dropped to her knees and dug through the dirt with her hands, closer and closer into the cave as Garou watched in peculiar of her work.

Emma gasped, "I found it!" Between her hands that dirted from her digging through dirt ground, glimmering golden pebbles faintly sparkled like unearthed treasures. "This might be it, but we need Gon to check and make sure this is the right one. It has to have a sweet smell."

Garou entered and whiffed the cavern air. It was too far to tell for that distinguishing smell even for himself, and he had a good nose as it is, but he was very sure there was something deep in there. "It's faint, but going in, I can be sure that this is what we're looking for."

"Wait! Let's go back and find Gon and Killua first!" Emma insists. "If this really is the cave to Beast Valley, then we should bring them here first so that we can all go in together. It might be too far in, we have to make every moment count."

He thought over it, gilded eyes trailing back to the girl.

"We did make a deal that we'll go and find Beast Valley together," she reminded him, lifting the device and showing it to him, "And if you want, I can help guide you through the valley with this."

It was a bold, perhaps even careless move to show him the device he could have easily taken for himself, but Emma believed that there was no point hiding it from him, since now that he realized what this device was, if he really wanted it, he could have taken it anyway whether she hides it on herself or not. He was too strong for her to try anything to keep this out of reach, not unless she has the first move and could outsmart him, which even then would be far too daring.

"...Fine," Garou said. "Let's go and find those other brats."

It would be helpful if that device warns him ahead of time for any strong monsters that might get the jump on him, and also to find his way out of the valley if he happens to get lost. That tracking device would certainly be very useful, he might just hang around with these kids a little longer just for that.

"You know, they have names..." Emma told him.

Garou bid the little girl no mind as he walked back the way they came. "I only name people I like."

She watched him go before turning her head down to the remains of the smashed boulder. This man really could have had the strength to smash through that concrete wall of Gracefield. _He really is strong..._

"Hey, kid. You coming or what?"

She adjusted her hold of her backpack, and hurries after the dark hunter, "Coming!"

/.\

The twitching nostrils of Gon's nose as he sniffed into the newly uncovered cave, Emma and Garou had returned to the cave they've uncovered with Gon and Killua. Gon took only a few seconds smelling the air inside the cave, "I can smell it. A sweet smell like strawberries and flowers."

"And with these golden pebbles on the ground," Killua said, cupping a few shiny small rocks in the palm of his pale hands. "There's no doubt about it. This has to be it."

The young assassin looked up to the sky that was starting to show lighter colors, "The sun is about to come up, probably in an hour or so. If we're going inside the mountain, we better know how to keep track of time, or we might accidentally miss the deadline."

Gon and Emma nodded. Emma looked down at the Monster Tracker as Garou slightly hunched over beside her for a closer look at the map the Monster Tracker details. Killua had thought the worst would happen now that he sees the dark hunter was aware of how they were finding their way around for this long, but to his surprise, the man has left the device alone in Emma's own hand. Was this guy really going to honor their deal? Huh.

"It's a long tunnel ahead," Emma informs, seeing the trail that this cavern leads, beyond fifty meters. "It might take us a while before we'll reach the valley."

"Then let's hurry. Let's go in right now," Gon eagerly suggests.

Killua drops the gold pebbles and patted his pants to rid the dirt from his hands. "It'll be dark in there though. We better watch our steps. Does that tracker have a flashlight?"

Emma shook her head, holding up the device, "No, but we can use the screen. It probably won't be much of a light source, but it's something!"

"We'll probably meet a lot of monsters in there, and especially when we find Beast Valley. If we work together, I'm sure we'll get through it all," Gon raised his clenched fist, "Let's get our missing stars today, and win this Preliminary!"

"Osu!" The children cheered. For them to use such a spirited cheer, Garou was wondering why these children were thinking they were prepping for a karate match.

/.\

A careful and steady tread through the darkness of the cave with only the Monster Tracker's blue-light screen their only light source, which only extends barely a foot ahead of them. Gon and Killua walked beside her as they watch out the trail before them, this time however, it was Gon who was guiding through the tunnel while Emma kept the light of the tracker's screen in front of them.

With the young hunter's strong sense of smell to lead them, when they reached a part of the tunnel where it was split into three other paths, Gon was able to pick out the correct path by following the sweet, almost captivating scent of the fruits and flowers living in Beast Valley. All other paths had a distinguishing scent of either a dead end, or death itself, with either an awaiting monster or traps.

The paceful footsteps of Garou follow behind them as the silver-haired competitor keeps close track of the leading children. They were walking for twenty minutes now, and he was starting to pick up that sweet smell as well.

"The scent is getting stronger," Gon informs, sniffing the air that molded from the nose delight of cherries to something more exotic and delicious, yet still far, "We just have to keep following this path."

"For the birthplace of all monsters, we have to expect a lot of them living there..." said Killua.

Emma agreed. "The tracker will warn us of any monster that comes into vicinity, but we have to look out for any other wild creatures. It can't detect animals or dangerous plants."

"Don't worry! We'll look out for those, even monsters" Gon assured, he turns with the hope that his smile can be soon through this dim-lit tunnel, "I can tell when a strong beast is approaching, and if we leave markings here and there, we'll be able to tell how to get out."

His face went blank and he recalled, "Oh wait! We actually don't need to do that, since we have the ca-"

Killua went and struck Gon's mouth with an open palm. Emma and Garou looked on quizzically. "Keep it down, moron!"

Garou frowned as Killua avoided eye-contact. The last thing they need is for this guy to find out about the Support Cards they have, or if he even knows about Support Cards. Either way, they have to be careful with the ones they have. Essentially the same amount of caution he and Gon as it were in Greed Island where stealing other people's cards was a norm, via obtaining through the use of a Thief Card, or murdering other players and looting their bodies.

"Not so loud, you might attract a monster's attention that can hear us this far," Killua excused, removing his hand from Gon, "Anyway, since we have Emma's tracking device, we'll be able to find our way out of here."

Garou's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He may not be quite "all there," but Killua could tell that this is a sharp individual. As if this person couldn't be any more of a threat. The dark hunter's eyes then widened, "Hey. Up ahead."

The children looked in front of them and were caught off-guard. Deeper in the tunnel, a light, grayish-white mist flows above the ground. A sudden coolness in the air.

"A fog?" She frowned.

"Not good," Killua analyzed with a frown. "Emma, you should let us take the front. Keep a hold of that tracker."

"I'll take the lead," Gon offered in equal seriousness, stepping forward, "Stay close everyone."

Garou also heightened his senses as the children, then himself, walked into the fog. Gradually, for the next ten minutes, the fog became thicker, and higher. Then thirty minutes, and eventually, the further they walked, there was nothing but fog that filled the tunnel.

The light of her tracker's screen was no longer useful as she can hardly see her own feet. The backs of Gon and Killua almost like shadows now, she looked behind her, the front of Garou's appearance was distinguishable enough, able to see his gilded eyes that were intently focused through the thick fog, it was like looking through a fuzzy window, and he was already close as it is.

The Monster Tracker suddenly beeped. Emma picks it up and looks through it as Gon asked her, "Was that your tracker?"

Emma soundly confirmed, peering through the tracker and straining her eyes to read it. Garou leaned over to see it as well. "There's a monster far ahead of us."

Another beep.

"Hold on, there's two now. No wait, there's three-!"

Together with Garou, she watched as more and more dotted presence appeared in the screen of her Monster Tracker.

The motion of Gon's head through the fog, turned as he spoke to Emma, "There is-?"

A sudden, swift rustle that sunk to the earth. Emma and Garou's eyes shot up from the tracking device.

"Gon?" Emma quietly called, stopping her trek. The fog has thickened so much, they might as well be inside a cloud. Neither she, nor Garou, could see the small form of the leading hunter or the young assassin that was right beside them. "Killua?"

Neither responded back to her. "Gon? Killua? What's wrong?"

"Hey, kid."

She looked back at Garou, through the milky fog, she could see his upfront figure, a disturbed sharpness in his eyes, "They're not here anymore."

"Huh?" Emma took a moment to comprehend his words. She looked back at where she believed Gon and Killua should, and tenderly reached out her arm into the fog, waving her arm around.

She could not feel the shoulders or back of either boy. _They're gone-?!_

"The hell? Where did those brats go?" Garou looked around, though what could he see but this endless mist and the little girl with him? When he had been focusing his senses in order to deal with this fog, he felt the sudden vanish two presence and had to be sure twice, listening to the breaths or stopping of footsteps, before he understood that those boys just disappeared. It wasn't anything like that vanishing act that kid in white used, this was something else.

As he quickly speculates while trying to keep calm, Emma took off running, surprising the dark hunter.

"Hey, kid! Wait!" Garou swiped for her form, but it too vanished into the fog, like grasping a bunny that disappeared into a body of snow.

"Something happened! They wouldn't just leave us!" Emma blindingly dashed into the fog in fear and worry for her friends. What had happened? Did they notice something? If they did they would have warned her and Garou someway. They couldn't have gone off without them! It was like they-

_Disappeared into the earth-!_

Memories suddenly surfaced of how the beginning trial occurred when they escaped Gracefield, and they fell into the traps of nature, another memory came of her own capture by sentient vines that took her to that village of horror and death.

"Gon. Killua," breathing out their names, Emma skidded to a stop, "Were they taken-?!"

The balms of her foot reached the edge of the ground, it broke under her weight and she slipped down, "Wah-!"

A hand shot for the back collar of her sweater vest and shirt, and prevented her total fall. "Watch your step," Garou's rough voice admonished. "Don't just run through a fog if you can't even see, idiot."

Emma hovered over the trench that was covered in fog, holding tightly the Monster Tracker in her hand. "O-oh. Th-thank-"

The fog then began to dissipate. Emma's eyes widened as the trench, upon the fog lifting, was revealed to be a cliff, then a pit, and then something much deeper and bigger.

A light suddenly flared from a distance, so brightly that Emma's eyes squinted by the glaring flashing that she blinked quickly.

"Whoa."

Emma looked back at the surprised Garou who held her up with his arm extended, and faced forward to see what had his attention.

The fog continues to fade away, and Emma softly gaped at the scene now shown itself before them. The light of a distant, orange and red Sun Stone embedded into the ceiling of mountain stone shown brighter, reflecting the rising sunlight that has appeared outside. Several more colorful rocks glimmered from the light, as it's warm rays reached further upon the unveiled land, grass, trees, and rivers.

Little critters reappeared from their hideouts at the fog's disappearance, creatures of unknown animal genetics. A rumble of a far away, inhuman roar that echoed throughout the entire area, the songs of winged bugs that fluttered through the air as other creatures with wings fly with them, as big as Emma herself. Wonders of fruits, vegetables, and flowers of all exotic appearance and fragrance that entices the fooled little critters such as this purple bunny of four ears, and was eaten, then gulped swiftly by the beautiful unassuming venus fly-trap-like plant.

Uncurtained by the showering rays of several Sun Stones, several canyons that expanded beyond sight, the lowest level was the darkest, with a couple of rivers and lakes down below, and dangerous creatures roaming around there that made the canyon so gigantic and towering at that floor. More creatures showed themselves from the bushes and trees, and rocks and the ground itself, citizens of this hidden plain with vast monstrous descriptions to their overall appearance. The wilds of nature resounded throughout the entirety of this place.

They have found Beast Valley, the morning sunshine overlaying the whole environment.

Thus begins Day 6.

"M-mister? Can you put me down beside you, please?"

Garou eyed back at the girl whom he still held over the hundreds of feet cliff, the little girl looking at her feet and the imminent death that waits below if she were to fall. Steadily, he started bringing her to his side.

"Ah-!"

A little gasp escaped her. Her widened eyes and face paled. Garou looked at it with a raised brow before he followed her stunned gaze.

"_Mmmmmmmm_..."

A deep sigh through the massive snout of a reptilian nose, a dinosaur-sized _dinosaur_ slept peacefully beside them and the cave they have just exited out from. Its skin was bright orange, with blue stripes at it's back, and a brown helmet-like mask over its head. His white sharp fangs poked out from its huge mouth that surely was hiding several more teeth.

Garou gawked along with the girl.

**[Monster Identified].** The Monster Tracker announced loudly, much to their distraught as she has her thumb accidentally holding the higher volume button.** [Monster Type: Digimon. Name of Species: Greymon].**

The Greymon's eyes opened half-way. He raised his head for where Garou and Emma were, but Garou had already dashed for the cliff, hiding out of sight against the stone wall with his feet finding the thin ledge and Emma still held in his grip. His face sweating.

_You got to be kidding me_, thought Garou, _A f-king T-Rex?!_

_A real dinosaur_, Emma was at horrified awe, but could still have the capacity to calmly evaluate,_ No, it's not a regular T-Rex, not from what I remember reading about. It's a monster. All these creatures here... We actually found it. This is Beast Valley!_

**[Monster Identified]-**

Identifying another monstrous creature that flew by, Emma quickly covers the speakers of the device and puts it in mute as Garou wide eyes were on her, and then a rumble overhead.

They looked up and saw the jaw of the Greymon, its head lowered to look below, cascading a shadow over their bodies, and otherwise, did not notice them with it's too big a head. They waited until it lets out a low growl in its throat and retreated back.

Garou looked at the girl who noticed his widened gaze, he puts a finger to his lips in a hush. Emma nodded. He then silently pointed at the ledge that her feet were just hanging above by several inches, her form still held by his clutch. He motioned walking with two of his fingers.

_I'm gonna set you down and we'll walk along this ledge_.

Emma understood and nodded. He watched as she looked down while he slowly lowers her to the same ledge he was standing on, unavoidable to see the deepest depths that were hundreds of feet below, yet she held a calm and brave face as her feet touched the ledge and her back pressed against the wall. Garou will admit, it's actually impressive. The little girl is pretty gutsy.

They started to shimmy their way along the wall, quiet and careful steps so not to attract the attention of the monster above them. But then, a sudden tremor to the earth that they were against, and their instincts screamed, GET AWAY.

Garou quickly grabbed Emma's sleeve and pounced several feet aside and onto another cliff below them, the view of the far drop below them like a weight of a brick inside Emma's stomach as she was pulled along. She witnessed the wall be broken through from underneath, and a large round shape emerged, a dull pink crown-like lips over its orange head with yellow spots. Its crown lips split open, and an awful screech bellowed from its mouth of massive yellowish sharp teeth.

And leaping away from it was a smaller figure of familiar appearance, his white hair and shirt scruffed with dirt and efforts of attacked, his blue eyes focused on the creature that chased him and he cursed out "-Damn!" Tossing a yo-yo around the creature with a long string extending beside its head.

"Killua?!" Emma yelled in shock. Garou landed upon another cliff, avoiding the flying huge debris that scattered everywhere. **[Monster Identified. Monster Type: Plant. Name of Species: Garish Gerbera].**

The plant-like monster reached for the boy with its wide-open jaw. Killua wrapped the monster's exposed roots that were it's bottom half and swung himself with a hard pull, barely avoiding the snapping teeth of the Garish Gerbera. From the Garish Gerbera's side, it whipped out a green vine-like arm and struck Killua's stomach, wrapping its vines around his waist and hurtling him towards the cliff wall, zipping over Garou's and Emma's head, crashing into the wall.

"Killua!" Emma cried out in horror. Reacting quickly, she perfectly aimed at the green vines, pulling the trigger. A surprised cry from the Garish Gerbera and its vines retracted, releasing Killua who struggled from getting out of the cliff wall he was embedded in. Wiping the blood from his mouth, but otherwise could still move. She was utterly relieved to see that he was still alive.

She then heard another struggling voice and looked back at the Garish Gerbera.

"Darn it!" Gon shouted, his arm and legs were tangled in the green vines that the plant monster had control over. "Let. Me. Go!" With his freed arm, he punched the body of the Garish Gerbera, a strong force enough to free himself, and started to fall. "Oh shoot!" He realized his mistake too late as he looked descended below.

"GON!" Emma screamed and Garou started to move. He bent his knees so far his bottom nearly touched the ground, and with his hand still clutching Emma's shirt, he leaped an incredible distance that he practically bested every jump record Emma only knew in her head and all records that have yet to come in her world. He jumped the same time that Killua has. Garou was the first to reach and grab Gon by the front of his shirt, spun around, and tossed the boy back to his friend who reacted right away, catching Gon by the hand, and tossing his yo-yo with his other hand to a nearby tree, and pulling himself and Gon towards the ledge of the canyon that towered at the right.

"Emma!" Gon yelled after her.

"Damn. They're too far!" Killua evaluated as Garou landed at the cliff at the other canyon, holding Emma like a football as Emma held around his arm. They watched as the Garish Gerbera tried to hang on to the wall it emerged from, but its rooted legs lost grip and fell into the distant descent.

"Mister!" Emma heatedly patted the older teen's arm, her eyes directed at the first level they arrived from and Garou followed her agitated gaze.

The Greymon had finally noticed them, an angry snarl that showed its ferocious teeth. He was far from them, however, so surely they were safe.

That is until the Greymon bared its teeth, a firey element building up from its throat that glowed the inside of its mouth.

"Oh... shit," Garou realized.

A massive fireball was spat out, and Garou ran. Putting all his might to flee from the fast-approaching fireball with Emma greeting the deathly heated element that heated the bottom of her shoes and her entire front.

"Keep running! We'll meet up with you guys later!" Gon yelled after them, though they were already gone, so it was a wonder if they have even heard of them.

A rumble from the earth, the boys knew they have to move, less they will be confronted with another monster in such an unfavorable position that they were in.

"Let's go, now," Killua emphasized. "We'll find those two elsewhere... well, if they've survived that fireball anyway."

Truly, this place is housing the most dangerous creatures. He scolded himself for his carelessness. If only he'd been more aware, he and Gon wouldn't have been taken by surprise when that Garish Gerbera dragged them into an underground cove with those vines before they could even yell.

"They'll be fine," Gon said with confidence, his signature smile of hope shining through. "Emma's smart, and that guy is strong. They're at least not alone either. They'll make it through this."

Killua's narrowed after where Emma and the silver-haired competitor ran to, in lack of shared enthusiasm, "Let's hope so."

They hurried and climbed up the canyon, rushing to meet up and likely intercept the separated.

/.\

The smoky trail of the fireball cannon that burnt the grass and dirt until it reached and destroyed a large tree. Garou held onto a vine of a much taller tree that assisted his evasion of the fireball, with Emma dangling by his fingers as she saw the destruction the attack of that dinosaur monster had caused, the pitch-black residue that left what used to be a tree in its ending wake.

He hopped back down and sets down Emma carefully. She picked up and looked at her own feet, black burnt residue at the bottom of her shoes, but otherwise still wearable. "That was close..."

It was incredible how this man was able to outrun the fireball for so long, even more thankful that she was able to only suffer its heat than its total touch that would have burned her to a crisp. She sighed out her relief before looking back to where they had run from. It was quite a mile or so. She then started wondering about her friends Gon and Killua.

"Should we go back?" She asked more so to herself, holding her rifle still.

Garou turned his head to look behind them, "I wouldn't. If that T-Rex is still there, he'll just spit out another ball of fire at us."

Emma had to agree, intertwining her fingers with obvious concerns.

"We'll catch up to those brats later," Garou told her, bringing her attention towards him. "I heard that kid with the fishing pole, said for us to keep moving."

He ushered her with a wave of his hands as he started down a random path forward, "Come on. We better keep moving if we don't want to be easy food for anything around here."

Emma registered his words, though her worries for her friends were strong, she decided to have faith in their skills, and hopes sincerely that they will be alright. She adjusted her backpack and follows after the man.

"You still got that tracker?" He asked her while his eyes kept to the path before them.

She nodded, reaching for her vest pocket and takes out the device. When she flipped it open, several presences were immediately detected, showing as white dots - including the man in front of her - in the dark screen in the midst of the determined environments that lined in distinguishing shapes, several paths in several directions.

"There are so many monsters around here..." Emma said, forcefully quelling her unease. "We're safe for now, if we keep taking this path."

They continue forward until they reached the cliff. A massive area in view, canyons entirely out of trees, forestall plains that were swarmed with unidentified creatures, big and small, and lovely flowers in several colors as in the distance they see more valleys and a school of winged-monsters flew from one place to the next.

"Amazing..." Emma quietly said. Garou side-glanced her at awe expression as she added, "I hope we'll be able to find Gon and Killua through all this."

Just then, the Monster Tracker alarmed her with an approaching presence. She checked just as Garou was on immediate alert, feeling the coming, unseen being.

"It's... coming from behind the cliff!" Emma warned as a rumble was felt. "It's coming fast!"

"Get down," Garou told her bluntly, pushing her down beside him she quickly complied to.

Emerging from the other side of the cliff, it soared to the sky near to the mountain-ceiling. A long, large body that slithered across the air, blood-red scales and wild orange hair with long strands from the snout of the wingless yet flying reptilian.

"A dragon?!" Emma gawked as Garou watched in near equal reaction. A real dragon neither thought to ever see one day. Garou had only known Dragon-Level Threat monsters, a feat he intends to reach for and surpass, but it was an entirely different thing to see an actual dragon in the flesh. From what Emma has read in the library, the only source she knows of to be familiar with most of the world outside her orphanage, this particular dragon was a dragon as depicted in Chinese Legends, creatures without wings and snake-like bodies that are often depicted as gods.

It roared, a harrowing noise that arose goose-bumps to Emma and Garou.

"-ANIKIIIIII!"

And in the midst of its roar, the scream of a child hailed from the back of the dragon.

Emma and Garou gaze up as a figure of a human ran across the long body of the dragon's spine, a sword in each arm- not held, but _as_. His arms were literal swords, a black-haired individual with sullen brown, vacant eyes, it brings a question if he could even see. A gray cloak over a dark kimono-like outfit with whites shapes all around it - shapes like a round pointed-up arrow with fins at the bottom. His bare legs without shoes were bandaged to his calves.

On his back was a small child with pinned up black hair, and a simple peasant-like green attire, with bandaged ankles and bandaged wrists that clung around the neck of the two-armed swordsman, panicked yelling as the dragon's body whipped and flew crazily across the air in an effort to throw off its unwanted passengers.

"AAAAAH! Bro! Hurry up and get us off from this dragon! AH!" The child, Dororo, exclaimed as he hung for dear life.

The duo-swordsman, whose name is Hyakkimaru, slice the scaly-skin of the dragon while running across the body.

The dragon wailed in pain, a sharp drop down that nearly flung Hyakkimaru and his little companion off if not for his sword deeply stabbed into the body. It then careened to the side, flying straight for Garou and Emma.

"Ah."

Emma ran aside, but Garou ran faster and pushed her along, narrowly dodging the dragon who slammed itself against the stone wall, writhing and bellowing a horrible screech. Garou takes hold of Emma around the waist as they took cover below the ledge, the dark hunter taking a peek as the duo-swordsman ran up and stabbed its head, narrowly the brain but the dragon was able to move in time. It pushed itself off from the wall and flew for the forestall canyon, Emma able to see it clearly in astounding along with her holder.

They watched as Hyakkimaru then swung his sword, missing the eye, but was able to slice off the strands of hair from below the dragon's left nostril, the pieces of hair flew by nearly instantly, but Dororo saw their chance and reached up, a hard grasp thrown in hopes to barely achieve their point, the child was able to succeed in capturing three-strands of hair.

"I got it! WHOA!"

The dragon flew for the forest, and it's wounded body that coated its red scales in a darker and richer color, it plummets towards the tree in a spiraling sort of dance. Hyakkimaru jumped as Dororo screamed right near his ear that pained his newly adjusting sense of hearing, and together they tumbled across the ground. Hyakkimaru recovered and continued onwards in a sprint as Dororo tells him "Go go go!" The dragon recuperated quickly, wriggling in the ground and chased after the fleeing two persons into the thick forest.

_Other competitors? _Emma intuitively wondered. Their wear was something that looked to be of Asian-style like Ancient China or Ancient Japan, it was unlike what modern people would dress themselves in anymore. Were those competitors from an era long ago? An old era of a world as opposed to hers?

**_-Water Breathing, Fourth Form -_**

Their instincts warned them of something nearby. Garou and Emma looked down.

**_Striking Tide!_**

Somewhat far below them, at a grassed flat area that was like the cliff they were holding onto, a figure leaped out from the bushes, slicing through with water trailing from his coated sword. A tide-like flow that swiftly traveled like rushing river streams, consecutive cuts throughout the bushes, and the two creatures he was fighting against, the bodies of the monster cut in half and he landed upon the grasses area, his feet skidding to the edge.

Silk threads tangled his white cloud-pattern blue overcoat, red-brown hair and dark red eyes that were both fierce yet showcased a kind warmness to it, but was overlayed with an urgency of the boy who was in battle, a black katana sword in his hand, and the corner top of his forehead blazed by blood color that tattooed on the skin, and carrying on his back is a dark wooden box with dark metal closings.

He turned at another monster approaching from behind him. A bug-like thing as big as a vehicle, with a purple-blue body, long, sharp, spider-like legs that traveled across the grass for the boy in blue coat, orange bug eyes and two sharp insect fangs, a white clunk of fuzz at the top of its round bug body at the rear end, spewing out silk threads that were like webs.

**[Monster Identified] [Name of Species: Silkfang].**

The boy cuts through the coming webs and he moves to the left, a powerful tug from the threads that had lingered on his overcoat but he cuts them immediately and sets himself free. Raising his black sword, he lunges himself directly for the Silkfang.

Emma gasped as the boy ducked from the fierce bite of the insect monster's two fangs, he slides and slices underneath the body, black-blue blood spilling over his form as he reached the other end and rushed forward.

Looking back at the newly killed monster, the boy name Tanjiro's nose twitched, sniffing, "This is bad. More are coming."

Intense rustling from where he first came, Tanjiro jumped back and barely dodged the sneak attack of a sharp leg of another Silkfang that emerges from the bushes. "I have to hurry!"

He breathed, deeply. So deeply that it seemed as if steam was actually leaving from his teeth. **_Water Breathing, Second Form -_**

Tanjiro clutches his water-coated sword and lunged his body forward.

_**Water Wheel!**_

A fast circular motion that left a water trail, his sword cuts through all of the silk threads and reaching the insect monster. With a single strike and he sliced the monster all the way through, killing the creature and its blue-black blood tainting his overcoat, then rushes forward back to the wilderness below them.

Garou's eyes lightened with intrigue as Emma looked on in absolute amazement, and then a shadow fell over their forms, glancing up, they see the Silkfang looking over them, its sharp leg ready to strike them.

"Watch ou-!"

Garou reacted before Emma's warning, clutching the side of the grip in one hand, he flung himself over the monster from behind with the little girl in his other arm, and landed his foot directly into the Silkfang's head, crushing it against the edge of the cliff underneath his foot.

"Behind you!" Emma spotted another Silkfang that had been behind the monster Garou had just killed. She quickly took aim with her still clutched rifle and fired several bullets into the body of the monster, it cried out in utter pain with blood leaking from its bullet wounds, and swung one of its legs forward to stab. Garou sliced off the piercing leg of the Silkfang and jumped away, landing at a ledge this time above, and observed as the Silkfang fell forward, writhing in agony.

Shadows still fell over them and they glanced up. Several more Silkfangs suddenly appeared, lowering themselves down from the silk that extended from their bodies like dangling spiders. If Garou knows anything about being outnumbered, it's that it is an unfavorable position. He kept moving them, leaping from one ledge to the next and so on with Emma in his hold.

"-CHUUUUUUU!"

He stopped as a bolt of lightning burst from the trees at another valley wall just far in front of them. A young boy appeared, with a red and white cap he wore backward, and a little creature appeared by his feet, a cat-size yellow mouse of some sort, with a zig-zagged tail, red circle cheeks, and black-tipped ears. A monster?

"Pikachu! Use another** Thunderbolt**!"

Yellow electricity sparked from the red cheeks of the critter, and much to Garou and Emma's ironic shocked feelings, a bolt of lightning was summoned and cast by the Pikachu that enveloped the creature's form "Pikaaaaa-CHUUUUUUUUUU!" and shot the element for a target they do not see. The little boy then continued running

"This way!" The cap-wearing boy directed the strange yellow electric animal, who followed his leading human without hesitation.

Rushing after the boy and his smaller companion, a giant lizard of green-coloring scale slammed the side of its body against the tree in too much eagerness for the fleeting competitor, and chases after the boy and his electric-casting creature with its open mouth filled with salivating sharp teeth, its tongue sticking out in absolute deranged delight for the boy and his pet friend.

As Garou continued onward while the Silkfangs were still on his tail, their focus on the cap-wearing boy remained and saw him reach into his own pocket. Still running for the cliff.

"Pikachu! On my shoulder!"

The Pikachu hopped, climbed the body of his trainer, and clutched his shoulder.

"I-is he gonna-?!" Emma started, as it seems the boy was about to do_ exactly _what she is suspecting.

The trainer, Ash Ketchum, pulled out a small ball in between his fingers, a red-half and white-half object separated with a black line and a circular white button at the center. With his thumb, he pressed the button and the ball enlarged and he grasped it in his hand, now the size of his palm.

"Charizard! I choose you!"

He threw the ball in front of him beyond the edge of the cliff. It split opened, revealing it to be some sort of spherical container of unknown mechanism and technology. A flash of light trailed out, taking shape of a large reptilian with wings, orange skin showed, limbs of white nail-claws, black eyes propped open, blue-green wings. A mighty roar bellowing from its dragon-face and sharp teeth.

"What, the, fuuu...?" A dumbfounded stare from Garou and a baffling impression from Emma, from the ball that was the size of a fingerprint, a large orange dragon had come out of it, taking immediate flight by the cliff. In an utter daring and bold move, Ash with his Pikachu holding over his shoulder, reached the edge of the cliff and jumped, the chomp of the lizard monster barely missed and the monster nearly falling off the cliff, dragging its talons against the dirt for dear life.

He descended briefly and landed on the back of his Charizard, flapping its wings as they took flight. The lizard monster climbed back but as it did, Ash and his dragon companion returned, "Charizard! Use **Flamethrower**!"

A wallop of fire filled the throat and mouth of the orange dragon, and a stream of flames burst out, coating the entire form of the lizard monster and its wet skin, drying it completely and charring its exterior skin, though it still lived yet struggled.

The flamethrower resumed as the Charizard flew for the valley wall that Garou and Emma were on. Panic struck the dark hunter and the girl, they ducked in time, feeling the heart of the attack as Charizard's flamethrower breathed onto the several Silkfangs that were chasing after Garou and Emma, their silk threads burned instantly and the Silkfangs enduring the intense heated damage. It was super effective.

The Charizard and its trainer then flew away as the Silkfangs, one by one, began to fall to the lower levels. Fire spread across the moss and grass, the trees becoming giant flowers of uncontrollable flames for petals. Dark smoke came from it and Emma coughed, covering her mouth.

"Stupid kid should watch where his dragon is aiming," Garou bitterly muttered, rushing to avoid and escape the fire that was starting to swarm them.

"We have to put out the fire before it spreads!" Emma said. Garou stopped and looked up to the wall of stone and dirt. A quick yet hard several jabs to the wall, it cracked under his fists, reaching to the top, and several enormous chunks of the wall fell forward. Garou sprinted away, down the uneven trail as ground material fell upon the fire, burying it until to the last bit of flames was put out.

Reckless destruction, but effective.

"Over there!" Emma spotted an opening into the new forestal area. Garou rushes for it as the avalanche collapses behind them, and kept running until the rumble of the falling wall debris grew farther, and farther away.

Eventually, he stopped, huffing out a breath and wiping the sweat from his chin, proving his stamina spent even for someone as strong as he. "Here should be good..."

He sets down Emma and he visually assessed. Her hair was more frazzled than before, and her form was covered in dirt, and her face tells him that she just faced through death's door more than a few times. But, well, she was alive, so that's good.

"You okay?" Garou asked her. Emma looked up at him and nodded right away.

"Yeah. I'm okay," despite how she looked, she was quite well in coping with those dangerous life-threatening scenarios, it wasn't something she was unfamiliar with anymore. She turned around for where they have escaped from. "Those must have been other competitors... they really are incredible."

_I'll say_, Garou thought to himself. _What kind of person could just summon monsters like that? Did he catch those monsters while he was here? Is that what he can do?_

He didn't even know that was actually possible. If a kid like that showed up in his world with that sort of ability, to call forth monsters, monsters that can unleash such powers, he'd be a high-class level threat immediately. And who knows what other monsters he has hiding in his pockets.

Literally.

"Oh, shoot," Garou said suddenly, bringing Emma's attention to him. "I missed my chance getting a star from those monsters we ran from."

With all that excitement and action, he didn't even have time to consider it. He sighed. "Ah well, just have to look for another one then."

"Shouldn't you rest for a little bit?" Emma asked but the dark hunter was already on the move towards one direction.

"There isn't enough time to rest as I please, not while we still got two stars and only one day left."

Emma watched him as he dusted away the dirt from his waist, a lingering hold to his stomach in a subtle caress as he breathed deeply through his nose with a narrowed gaze. _Is he still hurting from Gon's attack three days ago?_

He really shouldn't push himself if he's in pain, but he was also correct that they were running out of time. She examined his walking form for a brief moment before following him.

A startling beep grasped their attention. Garou sharply turned his head for Emma as she takes out her Monster Tracker, "There's a monster coming this way!" She warns.

A steady vibration that pounced every few seconds, Garou lets out a slow creak of a devious smile, "Perfect. Guess I don't have to look far at all."

From several meters away and from the midst of bushes, a huge and heavy figure hopped over, its landing causing Emma to jump while Garou's footing grounded. When the monster revealed itself, Emma blinked twice.

"A... frog?"

It was, in all simplicity, a very big frog. More accurately, a toad.** [Monster Identified] [Name of Species: Big Toad].** A straightforward and rather uncreative reveal of this simple-looking creature with pink rubbery skin and red eyes, its size was anything but the normal sizes of toads Emma has seen in books. It was very large, much bigger than even Garou, and wider than a car. It croaked at its discovered the sight of herself and Garou, his throat bulging out and retracting in.

"It's kind of cute," Emma could not help but identify. Compare to the other ferocious beast, this one was not as terrifyingly looking.

"Sure, but that doesn't mean I'll be nice to it," Garou started to approach the Big Toad. "You stand back, kid. This one is mine."

"Ah! Be careful!" Emma warned him, "We don't know anything about the monsters that live here in the valley. It might be really dangerous!"

"Well so am I," Garou refuted with an arrogant grin, "All these big fellas are small-time compare to me."

It would be all fine and good to know where to hit where it really hurts, but if that tracker of hers can only know a monster's weakness by first examining the contents of said monster, then he might as well have it erupt all of its innards. Several feet away from the Big Toad, Garou entered into a fighting stance, ready to strike, "Time to make my mark in these territories. Here's an attack from a True Monster!"

His arms flowed like river streams. He pursued forward, a hitting grip that slammed into the body of the Big Toad. The rubber-skin rippled from his impact that could smash concrete and spill out the organs of anyone. Emma watched wide-eyed at the sensation of a powerful force that reached her and the area that was disturbed by his imposed attack and strength.

The Big Toad was unfazed.

There was a moment of pause, and then the Big Toad glomped its toothless mouth down over Garou's head and pass his shoulder. Emma reactively sputtered at the absolute unprecedented as the monster lifted Garou's body and began to slowly swallow him whole. "M-mister! Mister! Are you okay?!"

She hurriedly latches onto her rifle and aims as Garou kicks the chin and throat of the Big Toad in quick, urgent, brutal sessions. His distress obvious as he fights to pull himself out, but the Big Toad continued to eat him in a consecutive pace.

"I-it's not affected by his attacks?!" Emma realized. She carefully aimed away from the captured man, and fired at the Big Toad's side. A contact from the bullet to its skin, the bullet was bounced off and shot elsewhere, Emma ducking her head and witnessed her deflected shot be embedded into a tree. "It deflected the bullet... Could it be-?!"

It's immune to blunt damage?

Emma ran to the Big Toad's side as only the flailing legs of the dark hunter remains yet to be swallowed. _Think! Think! If normal attacks won't work, what else could I use?_

Her four-barrel pistol only unleashes pacifism effects that deter the monster, none of them which would harm the monster enough to free the man._ I have to act fast! His whole body is being swallowed slowly, it will take time before he'll be completely digested. I have to think of something before that happens!_

She picks up some rocks and threw them at the Big Toad's eyes, but the Big Toad only blinked at its ineffectiveness before the pebbles also bounced away._ If bullets won't work, then-?!_

She stops by a tree and arms herself with her bow and arrow. If attacks from a round surface like that man's fist and her bullets, then what of an attack with a sharp-pointed surface? She has to test this, now! She has to hurry and save the man!

Pulling her arrow by the bowstring, she releases.

The arrow pierces through the leg of the Big Toad and the monster flinched, its inhuman blood escaping. That's it! She has to fight this monster with something of a sharp end! It doesn't matter if the attacks were as fast as a bullet or as fast as that man's kicks, if they weren't sharp, then this monster can't be harmed. It was just the feet of the dark hunter now, she must kill it quickly before the man fully enters and be melt inside the monster's stomach!

She fires yet another arrow, this time striking the monster at its eye. It croaked loudly in pain as its eyelids closed in between the stick of her arrow, and then, it bulged out.

_Huh? _Emma looked on confused.

Several places bulge from the inside of the Big Toad's body, punched and kicked from within in incredibly fast afflictions. Although it was at first unbothered, it started to sweat slime in distress and pain when its eyelids were forced open, and the left eye of the frog started to bulge, wriggling.

Blood seeping through the corners of its eyelids, the eyeball was pushed out by the sharp grip of a human hand. Emma spotted Garou, carving his way through with his bare fingers and fingernails, forcing himself out from the eye socket.

Emma stood there appalled at the horrifying, bloody display, her disturbance paling her expression as Garou dragged himself out of the monster and dropped to the ground. The Big Toad fell aside, losing much of its blood and having lost the ability to see from his left side.

But Emma no longer paid it any more mind as she stared up at the bloodied figure, his sharp eyes that glinted gold staring at the frozen child. He raises the giant eyeball in his hand.

"This is mine." He pointed at the eyeball in his hand, asserting his prize.

"O...Okay..." Emma mustered the courage and will to a whispering response.

They later then put the Big Toad out of its misery, Emma finishing it off with a Vida Flower against where its supposed vital organs are, and got a toe the size of a melon out of it.

/.\

The meat of the Big Toad cooking by the campfire Emma and Garou set up. The remains of the deceased monster beside them were mostly in bones, the majority of its body has been consumed by Garou who still had more room in his stomach to finish any leftovers, biting another chunk of toad meat, roasted to perfection, from the giant frog leg he held.

Together, they achieved collecting their third star. Emma was once more at awe of the questionably human man. She had her own share, a smaller portion compare to how much the man sitting beside her has eaten. It was actually rather tasty, especially when she added the small bottled soy sauce the kind Kijin clan had gifted her.

If this is the closest she is to know of Eastern delicacy, it was quite scrumptious, if an entirely new experience for her, though her sympathy for the Big Toad remained in her heart.

"Hey, what was that thing you've used?"

Emma paused her bite of the toad meat she held by the stick, looking at the man of astounding appetite. "Huh?"

"That white flower that turned red after you stabbed it into that frog," Garou elaborated. When he saw the little girl pull out that flower and prayed with it in her hands, it was an intriguing scene of the flower to suddenly be brought to a rich color of blood red, and the life essence of the Big Toad completely drained before it died peacefully.

"Oh. It's called a Vida Flower," Emma answered, then explained, "It's a vampiric flower that can drain blood. In my world, it's done as a religious ritual. Hunters especially, after they've captured their prey. It'll also help keep the meat fresh longer."

"Kind of a dangerous thing to carry around," Garou said. "Hope you know how to handle that thing."

Emma nodded, "It's... not something I like carrying, but it is useful when hunting, and it doesn't leave any creature suffering for long..."

So promised Sonju to put her at comforting ease, that all of the previous adopted foster siblings of hers were not in agonizing pain. A pinch that draws the victim under this flower into a deep sleep, never to wake again.

Garou watches as Emma absentmindedly stared into the fire with sadden eyes, slurping another piece of meat from the big bone leg in his hand, wondering why she suddenly looked rather down.

"You know, you eat a lot, mister," Emma suddenly said, verdant eyes looking back at him. "I've never seen anyone eat as much as you have. It's actually really amazing."

Garou answered as he grabbed and stretched his shoulder, a pop heard in rolling it, "Having fought as much as I have, I get a big appetite to keep up and replenish my stamina." It also does well to cope with his stomachache, as contrasting as it is.

"I get that," she craned her neck to glance at the skeletal remains of the Big Toad. "But eating that much, you must have been through a lot of fights, mister."

That was certainly true, he mentally concurred.

A distant rustle from the other side of the camp and Emma instantly looked over, her round eyes of innocent youth intensified with alerted focus, it would startle any adult for such a child to have such intense eyes. Garou needn't looked as he already sensed the little harmless squirrel-like critter, keeping his eyes on Emma.

He's noticed before, the girl has decent instincts. Although it wasn't as honed or adept as that friend of hers, the boy in green clothing, Garou could tell; she has potential. She had to have lived in the wilderness for some time for her to know how to hunt and always be aware of her surroundings, but it was evident enough that she had not been raised in that environment. She did say that she lived in an orphanage, but what sort of orphan life was it that she knew how to use a rifle? Bow and arrow he can reason, but guns? An _eleven-year-old_ using _guns_?

Even that bullet graze on her cheek brings up all kinds of questions, and if that wouldn't, then those numbers on her neck sure as hell would. What on earth were those for? And if that wasn't even the end of it, having caught only a glimpse of it, he was sure that this kid was missing an ear, and it sure didn't look like she was just born with it. How in the hell did that happen?

She couldn't have lived a regular life. Either there was a reason that led her to know how to fight and suffer those scars because of it, or that foster mother of hers has got to be the most irresponsible woman in this girl's planet. What kid has a tattoo on their own neck? What adult would even allow this? That orphanage has got to be the worst sham of a _so-called_ foster home in history. Unless all these markings on her were earned outside that place.

"Who taught you how to use a rifle?"

Emma regarded him once more at his question. Finishing eating her piece, she took a moment to consider, "No one really. There was this man I met who hunted through a dangerous forest for a long time. I saw how he held his rifle and how quietly he walked through the forest, and I mimicked them."

"You learned by watching?" A surprised tone from Garou. Sounds a lot like how he is.

She nodded. "It was, in a way, the only thing he'd ever taught me and my friend Ray, even though he tried everything to get rid of us."

"You stepped on his shoes or something?"

She shook her head, "It's more like we brought up a bad memory for him."

"Hm..." Garou replied. He tossed aside the bone piece to the pile behind him, and stood up, "Alright, that's enough of a break. Come on, let's keep moving."

Emma understood and began putting away all of the food, hot to the touch, she wrapped them in cloths and inserts them inside her backpack. Garou dug his foot into the ground and kicks a chunk of dirt to the fire a single time, stomping on it repeatedly and ensuring the fire was put out completely.

"Ready?" he asked.

Emma nodded, "Let's go!"

/.\

They walked through the forest-area, this side of the long, long valley, with Emma guiding them using her Monster Tracker and avoiding stepping into any hidden traps or blindly run into monsters. It was this that she started pondering why she didn't detect the trap Gon and Killua fell into. Even though it was foggy, she had examined the device in her hand closely, she was certain she couldn't have missed anything.

Then she recalled that plant monster that attacked Gon and Killua, it's vines that could extend so long. It was without a doubt that one of monster presence detected was that Garish Gerbera, and after a thought, Emma realized that likely, with this tracker, it's detected presence does not extend to the monster's own capable reach.

"We should watch our steps carefully," she warned the man beside her, whose intimidating physique and that piercing gaze of his she was becoming accustomed to. "That trap Gon and Killua fell for when we all first entered Beast Valley, it must have been that plant monster that dragged them away from us. This tracker could only detect monsters' presence and location, but not how far they can attack. Like that giant snake monster, it was two snakes conjoined together, so the tracker detected it as one monster, and it never mentioned how long it was."

Garou understood her and nodded, "Got it, so we just got keep our eyes peeled." He then glanced back down at her, "By the way, where'd you learn how to walk like that?"

Emma looked down at her feet that were on their tippy-toes. "Oh, this is something I saw Killua do - the boy with white hair." She added in case the man did not remember the names of those he refused to address with, out of irritation or spite he held for those boys.

She continued, "I've noticed how quietly he walks, and it was because he was walking like this. It's actually different than how I would try to sneak around, and harder too. I think I'm getting used to it now though. I can move quietly like this for five minutes, although it starts to hurt after three."

No wonder Garou thought it was weird how suddenly faint her steps were. Now that he thought about it, he did first notice the same thing with that kid in white but he never thought to look down at the feet to see why, he was busy keeping an eye on all of them.

"There's actually a trick to it I've found out," Emma further elaborated, "You first have to relax the joints in your toes, and if you don't pay it too much attention to it, it'll start to feel like you're walking like you usually do."

Finding it interesting, Garou watches her toe-walking for a moment, studying and examining the angle and position of the feet that snuck through the forest they treaded through, and then matched her footing with stunning ease.

"Yeah! Like that! That's actually really good! You got it faster than I did." It was even almost the same as how Killua walked, Emma was highly impressed.

He hummed lightly, a look of intrigued accomplishment from the dark hunter that directed down to his feet, quickly adopting this discreet manner of walking beside the smaller feet of the little girl.

They walked this way for another while until Emma's toes tired with the straining pressure, returning the balls of her feet to the ground in normal foot-travel, Garou kept this walk for a few longer, however, even as they went downhill and across rough, uneven grounds. It was almost as if he was showing off, or perhaps it was a small challenge he made for himself, one that he had easily overcome within a minute. He was already about to reach and surpass Emma's own record when her Monster Tracker once more alerted of another closing creature.

"Another monster?"

Emma answered Garou with a serious look, familiar with the sound and pattern that follows after it. Before she would look to determine the location of the creature, a sensation of disturbed trees and bushes at their right put them to an utter halt.

In that direction, Emma readied her rifle and aimed, eyes focused with a coldness against the approaching threat. Garou's hands were inches from his side, his fingers bared in relaxed composure, dangerous claws awaiting to fight in furious unleash.

The bushes jerked as a body traveled through them, and the monster came out. A four-legged beast with tan-peach fur over its head and at the front of its puffed chest, a black nose, and an orange, black-striped body.

It was the size of a puppy.

A tiger-puppy of some sort.

**[Monster Identified. Monster Type: Pokémon. Name of Species: Growlithe].**

Emma and Garou stared, unexpected at the size and adorableness of the approached monster, furthermore, that the monster didn't seem to mind them any of its attention. They watched cautiously as the small furry creature had its nose against the ground, sniffing around in search of something, and then looked up at them. Emma and Garou were immediately on-guard, having previously learned not to underestimate something that was cute.

The tiger-puppy turned its head back to where it first emerged and barked. "It's calling someone?" Emma looked down at her tracker, no other monster was in range.

Yet something comes after the Growlithe in rush movements. Tensed, they ready themselves for whatever else , and saw the figure comes out.

"Huh-? Ah!" The figure was a boy, his green-tipped spiky hair instantly familiar, recognition struck Garou and Emma.

"Emma! Old guy!" It was the young hunter with the fishing rod - the hunter they have been separated from for a few hours.

Emma was agape, "Gon!"

"Who are you calling old, you little brat?" Garou growled with begrudging eyes as Emma ran up to the boy in absolute happiness. Utter delight at finding one another in this vast region.

"Wow! We've actually found you!" Gon exclaimed highly before looking back to the trees, "Killua! I've found Emma and the old guy!"

"Who the hell are you calling old-?" "-I'm so glad to see you're okay!" Emma overlapped Garou's comment with immense joy, looking down at her feet to the awaiting Growlithe that looked up to Gon and Emma in seated expectance. "Who's... this?"

Gon reached down and patted the cub-pup who savored his touch with closed-eyes, "We've met this little guy a while ago, he's been helping us get through the valley."

Garou's glare shot up for the rustling of the trees, where Killua's form dropped to the grass. "Whoa. You really did found them," the assassin boy said in amazement.

"I know right?" Gon exclaimed before looking back at Emma and Garou. "We weren't sure at all if we were ever going to find you guys. This place has so many flowers with strong smells, I couldn't find your scent at all."

He picked up and held the tiger-puppy in his arms, "Then we found this little guy here in the valley, and he was able to pick out your scent!"

"But how?" Emma asked. "You would have to have something from me to..." Realization dawns on her, "Wait. Did you use-?"

The Growlithe excitedly climbed over Gon's shoulder, the side of his body a soft cushion against Gon's cheek as the pokemon reached Gon's backpack.

From its return to Gon's arm, it held the **_Support Card: _Instant Travel **in its little fanged mouth.

When they have left the Kijin clan's village, Emma decided to entrust Gon and Killua with two of the three cards they were given. She gave the Instant Transport Card to Gon, the Trap Card **Tangled Webs** to Killua, and herself holding the **Mystery Box** Card. It was a sign of agreement between them, that they would accomplish their task to achieve five stars and pass the Preliminary, as well did these boys deserve something for agreeing to selflessly relent those extra stars that were once Garou's, rather than keep it for themselves. Since Emma was the first to hold it, her scent was laced upon it.

"H-hey! Give that back!" Killua wordily berated the Growlithe. The Growlithe avoided Killua's reach for the card as it hopped out of Gon's hold and ran around the feet of Emma who looked down at it unsurely, before it jumped into her arms. Holding up the card close to her face.

"What's that?"

Killua stiffened as Garou leaned over Emma's form, eyes examining the Support Card._ Don't tell him don't tell-_

"Oh, it's a Support Card."

_She told him! _Killua wanted to drag out his own hair in frustration.

Garou blinked, "Support Card?"

"You don't know, mister?" She asked as she retrieved the card from the Growlithe's mouth, and unresisting the immediate desire to pet the Pokémon's back. "They're magic cards that can give us an advantage throughout this event. Like the Monster Tracker I have."

Huh. This is the first Garou has heard of it. Probably because he was busy hunting Heroes and monsters most of his time. He pointed at the card, "Can I see it?"

"Sure. Here you go."

Emma unhesitantly handed the Support Card to Garou - their one and only card that can instantaneously teleport them out of this dangerous place of dangerous monsters. Killua's jaw dropped as Gon was speechlessley bemused.

_LEARN TO HAVE SOME CAUTION!_ Killua screamed inside his head, his incredulous glare at the girl who was oblivious at his stare.

Killua remembered the infamous player-killer of Greed Island, Bomber and his two other helps - one which Killua himself fought with. When he first heard of the Bomber, Killua deduced the man to be a remorseless killer who would do whatever it took to win that game of Greed Island, and was convinced of that man's cruel nature when he later heard his voice through the message that demanded he, Gon, and the group they were with, to relinquish their cards. This person did whatever he could to take other people's cards to get ahead of the game, and if this person was the same, they shouldn't even risk testing it!

"Instant Teleport?" Garou read the name of the card he held up close to his face.

"Uhuh. Once we've all got our five stars, we're planning to use that card to get out of Beast Valley right away," Emma unhesitantly revealed the mechanisms of the card.

"Huh. That's pretty neat," and with that, Garou returned the card to Emma. Killua was stunned.

_He... just gave it back?_

The man didn't even hesitate. It would have made sense if he at least showed a bit of temptation and intrigue to the card, but neither was demonstrated, none that could be seen anyhow.

Gon looked at Killua, "Maybe he really isn't as bad as we thought he was." The young hunter was starting to see what Emma had saw in the man.

"Eaay for you to say. He still attacked us," Killua reminded, and if anything, this just shows how unpredictable this man was.

The Growlithe hopped out of Emma's hold and returned to Gon's side with a pant. "It's honestly incredible that you befriended a monster, Gon," Emma told the boy in green.

"I have a way with animals," Gon said. "Kite even once told me that the best Hunters are the ones who can communicate with and be close to animals. I guess it's no different with monsters like this one."

He knelt beside the creature and began to coddle him with both petting hands, the Growlithe purred in delight as it rolled over to its side and exposing its belly. A laugh escaped Gon as he offered the creature with affection.

"It'd be pretty easy that we could get another from him," Gon added, his eyes turned sullen somewhat. "But I'd feel bad if I do that He's helped us this far, I wouldn't want to hurt him. Plus, Killua tried to cut his hair and he didn't like that."

Understandably so, as anyone would feel at edge at the sight of such sharp deadly weapon at the fingertip of strangers. Killua huffed as he inserted his hands into his pockets. Emma understood Gon's feelings. It _would_ bring her guilt if a kind and friendly animal displayed itself to her in trusting affection, she too wouldn't think or want to hunt it even if she was near starvation.

"It's fine anyway," Gon assured, "We've already have our fourth star, we just need to look out for one more monster."

"Eh?! You guys got your fourth star?" Emma looked at the boys eagerly.

Killua affirmed with a short bob of his head, "Yup. It really sucked though. We fought through about three monsters and barely got away with our lives before we could try to get another piece from those other monsters. This place is seriously no joke."

"Did you guys managed to get any stars?" Gon asked Emma and Garou during their time of separation.

Emma answered enthusiastically, "We did! It was only one star, but we're this much closer to reaching our goal!"

"That's good," Killua commended. "Well, we better get going. Can't stand here in one place for too long."

The young assassin started one direction, "Come on, there's a place we've found that we're thinking of making camp for tonight."

"It's really awesome! You have to come and see it!" Gon promised with much excitement, picking up the Growlithe in his arms. "It's where we met this little monster and all his other friends."

Emma complied with a nod, "Sure! We've been walking for a long time now." She turned for the man behind her and waited for his input. Garou thought momentarily to himself. He really ought to go with luck and start hunting monsters, but these beasts living among here are seriously tricky. That Big Toad for example, what other creatures might he expect that are also immune to damage?

At that likely scenario, he really could use that Monster Tracker's ability to determine a monster's weakness when he really needs it. "...Alright. Let's go."

Emma smiled up at him, and together, they followed after the leading boys and their yipping tiger-puppy.

/.\

It was like a private small meadow, yellowstone walls guarding this place, with the entrance through underneath the roots of the massive trees. Colorful exotic flowers in this green grasses area as small creatures fusses around in playtime and company, some swimming at a nearby pond deep enough for creatures to dive into. The Monster Tracker made repeated identification to every new monster Emma had come across, and under the same name that identified the type of their overall species.

Pokémon

A delighted laugh from Emma when the brown fox known as an Eevee snuggled its head against her cheek while a little orange chick almost as tall as her knees called a Torchick cradled itself by her side, chirping its own name happily. Gon sat next her, playing with the befriended Growlithe, a Bulbasaur that was a blue-sky four-legged thing with a leave plant on its back at his other side, and a Teddiursa, an orange fur bear with a single curled stroke of white at its forehead.

A small yellow mouse, one that looked similar to the mouse that Emma and Garou saw company the cap-wearing boy, but this creature was much smaller, with paler yellow and a tiny body, a Pichu, who takes playful comfort by Killua's hip as he sat with a Sphynx, a four-legged cat like creature with blue and black fur and a yellow star spike at the end of its tail, oh and also a tendency to shock, as did the Pichu, and so did the white squirrel with blue stripes, it seems all the electric-type pokemon have a fondness towards the young assassin, one that Killua both found bothersome, yet not unwelcome.

Garou stood aside and observed the children enjoy themselves with the non, non-hostile monsters that took to an immediate liking with the kids. Practically dealing with literal Cubs, pups, kittens, and other baby-size critters. A stark contrast to the dangerous creatures he and Emma had come across and barely managed to either escape from or defeat. He simply watched their smiles and cuddling with the friendly critters, acting as the spirited kids their age suggests.

A pointy clutch at his ankle. Garou looked down and spotted a gray, wolf-like pup with a black face, biting around his ankle with baby fangs. A Poochyena.

He picked up his leg, the Poochyena still clutched with unrelenting biting, though it was evidentally startled at being picked up, failing to have his intended prey to pick on to be intimidated or even affected by his usually pinching bite. Garou reached out and plucked the wolf-pup pokemon from his ankle, face to face with the critter, it dared to object its position, and tries to reach and bite his face. It amused him.

"Ah! Stop! That tickles!" Emma's cheeks were brightly orange as she was assaulted by the endless kisses granted by a Lillipup. She had always wondered what it would have been like to have a puppy, her family had always wondered so and even dreamed that their eventual adoptive parents would have one so that they may play with and forever love. Oh how she wishes her family could be with her to enjoy this. She laughed loudly.

"You know, we can still try..." Killua said idly. Gon frowned disapprovingly.

"We can't. They'll get scared, even if you do just want to cut their fur or hair."

The Pichu managed to sneak under Killuas white shirt, crawled upward and pop out from the exit hole by his neck, its soft pale yellow fur vibrant and faintly prickly, like how a person hair can stand up after rubbing leather around a ball of sulfur.

"Mm..." Killua said, rubbing the Pichu's pink cheek with his finger, and relented. "Ah well, I guess we'll just have to look for other monsters to hunt then."

"Absolutely!" Emma loudly proclaimed with the Lillipup in her arms and a red fox called a Vulpix on her head. "We can't harm any of them! They're just babies! And they're really friendly!"

"You sure are having the time of your life..." Killua noted as Emma then turned her head to the man who secluded himself but not too far from them.

"Isn't that right, mister?" She asked the now seated older competitor.

He had his back towards them as both his hands and attention was to the Poochyena, holding up the little wolf-pup by its paws and having the critter stand on its feet as if to do a little dance, much to the wolf-dog's miffed feelings for it. He slightly turned his head for her, then back at the Poochyena.

"...Garou."

Emma blinked, her verdant eyes brighten as they stretched open. Did he just...

"My name's Garou," he told her again, and release one of the Poochyena's paw to turn and point at her, "So you can stop with that "mister" or "old guy" calling. You got that? I ain't that old. I'm only eighteen."

It was like her heart danced in a celebratory accomplishment. He had actually given them his name. It made Emma happy, and it made her want to smile until her face hurt.

But his next given fact had careened her train of thought, and her joyfulness to learn his name was switched with another tremendous emotion. "YOU'RE EIGHTEEN?!"

"Hold on! You're a teenager?!" Killua gawked widely.

"Seriously?!" Gon yelled in pure disbelief.

Garou's eye twitched as he visibly withheld himself from smacking them, his hands still gingerly clutching the Poochyena's paws.

"Ah! I'm sorry! That was rude," Emma apologized. "I just... never thought you'd be that young."

She figured he'd be in his twenties with that muscled physique of his, even the nameless man didn't have that kind of build from what she had only saw, but a teenager? Just seven years above her!

"He's just like Leorio," Gon quietly said to Killua, who nodded in agreement. Garou paid them no more attention, and resumed his play of the Poochyena who barked at him.

Emma relaxes, watching the mans back for a little longer. She smiled. She looked back at the Lilipup in her hands and hugged it tightly, the puppy rubbing its fur to her face in returned embrace.

_I finally know his name_. She thought happily,_ Now I hope he gets to call me by my own name._

* * *

**_Competitors Introduced:_**

**_Hiyakkimaru and Dororo (Dororo)_**

**_Tanjiro Kamado (Demon Slayer)_**

**_Ash Ketchum and Pikachu (Pokémon)_**


	9. Trap, Capture, Release

Chapter 9: Trap, Capture, Release

It was midday, though impossible to tell while they were within the mountain, time remained consistent through the changing colors of the Sun Stones embedded in the ceiling stone, the main light source of the entire valley. Beastly noises and chirping of exotic creatures tirelessly rang throughout the countless canyons, as well clashes of horns and swords, claws and magic, teeth and bare fists, and so on, locked in battle between monsters and competitors, a personal embrace between life and death, or any else.

And hiding within the secret meadow where young small creatures of elemental abilities live happily together, Garou managed to teach the troublesome Poochyena how to shake hands, already tamed the wolf-pup after its earlier nibbling attempt that was hardly a bother to the dark hunter, no matter how much those little fangs actually do pinch for others of much less durability or pain tolerance. The Poochyena understood at once who the alpha here was.

Laying on his side, supporting the side of his head with his hand and elbow against the ground, Garou continuously played with the Poochyena, the little wolf-pup playfully flailing among the grass for the silver-haired competitor's hand that danced his fingers in prickling prodding for the wild Pokémon. The human-monster's thumb repeatedly captured and gnawed by the smiling, furry little rascal.

His gilded hunter eyes diverted for the huddled three children who were not so far out of earshot. The children were sitting upon the grass in a discussion for their next course of action regarding their hunt for more stars, the Growlithe, Eevee, and Shinx settled beside each child as the rest of the wild Pokémon played around them.

They determine today to be the day they must gather their stars, else they will have to hustle on the final day, which is tomorrow. So they plotted, like middle-schoolers in a group project determine to win this scavenger hunt.

"We can use the banana fish meat as bait, and use the Trap Card to capture any monster that might come for it," Emma gave her idea. "And if the Banana Fish meat still has some poison left, it might affect whatever monster that might come and eat it, and we'll be able to capture it easier. It might be dangerous though, since it'll probably go wild in reaction. I think that's when the Trap Card: Sticky Webs will be the most useful."

"Sounds good," Killua agreed, "We'll hide out of sight and wait until something comes up. When the Trap Card activates and the monster is trapped, we can take it down right then and there."

"We should have other traps set up, just in case any monster walks around the Trap Card," Gon suggested with a point of his finger, "Like a few snares trap maybe. It won't take long to make them, I just need some ropes. We can go collect vines or whatever we can find."

"I can help you with that!" Emma eagerly offered. "I still have that fishing net, we can use it for the trap!"

"Then we better get going while it's still bright," Killua said. "Let's work on making that snare trap and then find the best spot where we can set the bait."

Emma and Gon nodded and they stood up. The Growlithe wagging its tail as Gon petted his head, "We're going out for a little while. Stay here with your friends, we'll be back."

Able to understand Gon, the Growlithe barked affirmatively. The Shinx purred as Killua strokes its soft back. He would not say it openly, but he's becoming to like the little electric-type creature. The only pets his family had were the guard dogs that were monstrous in appearance and huge in size, such as Mike who is always stationed by the gates. Killua liked the guard dogs, but he had always been interested in having a cat for their cool, sleek behavior.

The Eevee's front paws were pressed against Emma's legs, bouncing lightly on its hind legs. She reaches down and held hands with the brown fox Pokemon. "We'll be back as soon as we can. Stay safe, okay?"

Releasing the Eevee, she then turned her head for Garou who had been remaining watchful of them. "You should come and help us too," she suggested kindly.

Garou paused his tickling of the Poochyena, allowing the wolf-pup to harmlessly chew the side of his hand without qualms. His eyes return to the biting creature, a blank look on his face. "I told you before," He said, "I won't help you with your hunt. You kids sound like you know what you're doing anyhow."

He lightly shook his hand the Poochyena's little fanged-mouth latches onto. The wolf-pup yips as it drops to the ground, cutely tumbling to its side but recovers quickly, back up to its four-legs as Garou stands up. "I guess it's time I go out and find my own stars too."

His fingers pressure the back of his waist and he stretched with a mild sigh, then pointed at her, "By the way, can I borrow that tracker?"

Emma thought to convince the young man to travel with them longer. Gon and Killua might hesitate, and she understood their caution, but this is a dangerous place and they all have a common purpose to win the Preliminary, so surely they should stick together and help each other. However, she was caught off guard by his sudden request. Not a demand which would have been problematic, even as she was confident that he truly wasn't as bad of a man as she first made him out to be. This tracker was a gift from her friends the Ogres after all.

"Hold on," Killua steps up, putting up a stopping hand towards Garou, his narrowed gaze and the dark hunter's instant glower at their immediate eye-contact. It was evident that although they have ceased fire, it was not a treaty that will extend beyond the Preliminary, therefore, they should naturally be distantly adverse with each other. "We need this tracker with our hunt. Besides, why should_ we_ help you with your hunt?"

"Cause I'm being nice enough not to drop kick you in the head, kid," Garou reminded him with a dark scowl.

"We agreed to lead you to Beast Valley, and that you wouldn't fight us for the rest of the Preliminary." Killua already suspected that Garou might have stuck around for as long as he did for two reasons, one they have the Tracker that can identify any monster within a certain proximity, and two, they have the Support Card that can transport them out of this place if need be.

Garou turned to face them fully, a sullen glare at the young assassin.

"If you think you can stick around just to use what we have that'll help us pass the Preliminary, forget it," Killua calmly declared as Gon went to his side, evaluating the exchange attentively, "That wasn't part of our deal."

If it can be helped that this guy won't steal their vital assets that can not only guarantee to capture their stars, but also their survival and way to escape this place at once, then Killua will do what he can to stand his ground, to look out for his friend Gon and their only guide Emma. It was nice enough that he was able to look out for the girl, but Killua won't take that as an immediate interest to trust the person, he wasn't as empathetic or willing to give people a chance as Gon and Emma were. Not with the kind of person this was. So for Gon's sake, he'll have to be the one with a firmer foot here.

"I don't think you get it," Garou stated lowly, "You kids _owe_ me for losing my stars. Letting me borrow that tracker will help make up for that."

"Are you going to give us an extension to our deal if we do that?" Killua asked.

"No. You two are still gonna get it," Garou declared to both Killua and Gon. "Maybe in the next round, I'll take pity on you kids, but you're not getting off any easier."

He'd been dealing with a broken ankle and a pained stomach for days now, Garou certainly wouldn't be so generous in forgiveness after that. They were kids, but not weaklings, and he was the Ultimate Evil who challenges those that proved to be otherwise, people who should expect to face strong and dangerous opponents if they think to participate anything without knowing the hurt of potential and absolute defeat. These kids should have known the consequences the moment they entered battle with him, and landed decent enough blows that actually harmed him. So naturally, those strikes that were meant to hurt, should be answered likewise.

Emma looked at both individuals that were in a glaring match with each other. She waved her hands at them, "Guys, stop! Let's not argue with each other, okay?"

Hoping to appease both persons, she turned for Killua and quickly ran up to him and Gon. "Killua, I know how you feel. To be honest, I'm kind of hesitant. It was a gift from the leader of that clan we met, Connor's father. He welcomed me to his village and has been so kind to me. This was the last gift I've received from, and I want to make sure I take good care of it."

"Then don't give it to him," Killua flatly told her. "You can't honestly tell me that you've forgiven him after coming after me and Gon. He even nearly hit you with that rock he kicked!" And although Killua was unable to see the result of that rock hitting whatever surface it struck, he visually judged the projectile and determine the weight of it enough to break her nose if it had hit.

Emma glanced back at the awaiting Garou who had his hands at his hip, a "well?" widening look in his eyes when they met hers. "I know that," Emma said to Killua, "I haven't forgiven him really. I just don't think we should fight each other and get anyone anymore hurt over it. It's not like I'm not still mad, I'm just trying to think this logically over my feelings. I'm not disregarding how you feel or how Gon feels, all I'm asking is if we can find a way to move past that so that we can focus on what's ahead of us, and get there with as much less trouble as we can."

Killua's face softened. Hearing her reasoning, it was surprisingly sound. Still, they can't just hope that Garou would be willing to do so, the dark hunter was holding a grudge after enduring their attacks after all.

"Killua, he has been keeping his promise so far," Gon spoke up. "Maybe we should help him get his stars."

"As if! He told us he wouldn't help us with our hunt! So why should we help him?" An un-denying point Killua brought up.

Emma took a brief moment considering his response. "You're right," she said simply, and then walked back to Garou.

"Hey! What are you-?! Guh...!" Killua growled under his breath, hanging his head back. Gon watched Emma approach the oldest teen curiously, yet also carefully considerate of their friend and what she intends to do.

"Hey Garou," Emma said to the young man when she was in front of him, three feet away from him, as if she has no sense of self-heed to his lean-muscled figure and limbs that have crushed bones and gushed blood from others. Garou lowered his head to look at her.

"If you can help us with our hunt," Emma said, "I'll let you borrow the Monster Tracker."

"What?!"

She and Garou heard Killua shouted, but promptly bid him no mind as they continuously regarded each other. Garou leaned his upper form forward slightly, his head tipping to the side. "I never said I would, just that I wouldn't crush you brats right now."

"Yes," Emma agreed, "but even though we did lose your stars, you do also owe us a favor."

He puffed out his lips and spat air of disbelief, barely containing the urge to laugh, "I owe _you_ a favor? You got your head scrambled sometime ago?" This daring little miss who stole his stars and then lost them the next minute, then having to rediscover them only to give them away willingly?

"You did attack us, even though my friends told you that we weren't looking for a fight," Emma told him, "Honestly, I'm still angry at what you did. Even though we were watching over you, we were only passing through."

Perhaps that thrown rock that narrowly missed her head was meant to scare them, or test their mettle. Perhaps he was just merely asserting himself against other competitors. Maybe Gon and Killua were right to be wary and reactive, but perhaps they were too eager to further ignite a fight between them and the young man. Though startled, she had not been harmed, though he was antagonizing, he had not been overtly harmful at first.

Whatever the reason, Emma was certain that no one had to fight each other, and she was proven of this person's true character when he decided to spare her of any severe harm, from himself, or from that snake monster he prevented from killing her.

"I owe you for losing those stars, but you also owe us one for coming after us," Emma tells him. "So if I let you borrow the tracker, you have to help us with our hunt."

"You're pretty bold if you think you can just make changes to our deal like that," Garou squatted down to her level, arms in front of his knees and hands limped with scuffed knuckles, his intimidating frame hardly dwindled. Emma remained unfazed and unwavering to his piercing stare.

"I'm open for re-negotiations, and add on to our deal," Emma said, "The Monster Tracker was given to me as a gift. It's also what's been looking out for me and my friends this whole time. If you can prove that you'll take good care of the tracker, then I'll let you borrow it, but you have to help us first."

She then added, "Its also not guarantee if we'll be able to get our five stars. We'll probably still need the tracker for its map and ability to analyze monsters. You can still borrow it if you'll help us today, but we probably have to come with you to keep hunting for more stars."

"Demanding little runt, aren't you?" Garou snidely remarked. And the nerve of her too.

"They're not demands, you get something out of it too," Emma told him, "If we do manage to lure in a monster, we can even share it with you. I can also promise you that once we get all our five stars, we'll use the Transport card to get all of us out of here."

He stared for a moment, his expression unreadable. He looked aside then, a low sigh through the nose, like a muffled growl of a beast in pondering. "...I'm not hunting with you. You kids seem capable enough to do that yourself."

"Then you can help us set the traps, and watch us from nearby," Emma proffers. "I'll still lend you the Tracker then."

He long regarded her once more, "...Alright. But I'm not gonna share with you kids. If it looks like you can't handle whatever monster you lure in, I'll step in, but then that makes it my prey, and I don't share what's my prey. I won't give a single piece to any of you kids."

He raises three fingers, "Three minutes, that's all I'm giving you. Any longer than that, and I'll steal your prize."

An even exchange to her additions of this revised deal of theirs. Emma thoughtfully expressed his conditions. If the monster does turn out to be too much for them to handle, it would be nice for them to have this person's help, although the result of that would be their hard-earned efforts to be entirely snatched from them, and with this, it would still apply her lending him the Tracker.

"Only if you have four stars today," Emma counters. "If we happen to come across another monster and you get a fifth star from it, then you really won't need to use the Tracker."

"Maybe..." He concurred. It's all about getting points, but at this rate and only one day left for them to achieve five stars, it might be best that he doesn't overexert himself. He's still not at one-hundred percent yet, so he might keep himself at the safe zone for now. If he does get his five stars today, then he's all set, which means that his chances are increased if he does decide to follow these kids on their next hunt.

"Oh, and one more thing," Garou added, pointing at her, "You try to trick me or anything else you do to get rid of me, you know what happens, and you'll be the first to answer for it. Got it?"

She thought for another moment about their revised agreement, continuing cooperation of assured achievements to their common goal for the Preliminary, "...Okay. It's a deal."

He put his hand down, then starts for the way out of this area, "Let's get moving then."

He stops at a persistent pinching feel at his heel, he looked to his feet, where he spotted the lingering Poochyena teething the bottom of his shoe. He picked up the pooch by it's back and set it aside.

"Sit."

The Poochyena seated in compliance, Garou patted its head and resumed his way to the entrance they came through. Emma takes another long, wondering look at him before hurrying to her friends.

"We've been listening," Killua said with a disgruntled scoff. "Honestly, that guy... threatening to steal our next monster. I told you he'd be trouble."

"He wants to win just as much as we do," Gon reasons.

"Yeah right, he just wants to be a jerk!" Killua said bitterly, inserting his hands into his pockets.

"Well, at least we have extra hands now to make more traps," Gon optimistically responded and smiled at Emma. "Good job, Emma. You know, you're a really good negotiator."

"You think so?" Emma asked, she does recall having to be mainly the one to settle disputes between her siblings, it's been second nature to her ever since.

Gon nodded, "Come on. Let's hurry now." The sooner they can achieve their stars, the sooner they will secure their place in the Competition Between Worlds before tomorrow.

Agreeing, Emma and Killua carry their individual backpacks. "Right!" Emma said enthusiastically, "Let's go!"

/.\

They left the hidden area and all their befriended adorable Pokemon, the children assuring their return. Emma takes lead once again, tracking and maneuvering new areas through the thick lush forest, all the while they've gathered vines and other materials made of fibers to use for their snare traps.

After a while, they found a spacious clearing in the forest, near the edge of the valley cliffs, where the extension of the canyons could be seen miles away, and all its wonderous, dangerous creatures traversing among it over the deep depths that lead only to pits of blue darkness, and what other unknown creatures that could await there.

The children decided to set their trap here, starting with the thin vines they've collected all this time. "Do you know how to make a rope out of this?" Emma asked Garou who was still keeping himself distant from the three children, but not by a lot. He was given a handful of vines, and was observing them blankly.

"Sure." He said, taking two long pieces of the vines, "I took art class in elementary."

He demonstrated his knowledge of craft by easily twisting and turning the vines together, an action done so easily for what he had not done in years. It may have been a while since, but he was always good with his hands, he might as well been the only decent crafter at that place, but people were more impressed with whatever mess Tacchan was doing, that they didn't even care how much he stole the art supplies from the other kids, even taking parts of others artwork just to make his own.

Emma also demonstrated her adept and quick making of the vine rope, as did Killua and Gon. "I've always loved doing arts and crafts with my family," Emma said in idle conversing with her friends and the wolfish competitor. "We'd even made each other bracelets out of yarns."

"Aunt Mito and I did that too," Gon told his memory. "It took a couple of tries for me to get it right. It was good practice for setting up snare traps for the animals living at the island."

Gon looked over to see Killua doing well-crafted rope-making with the vines, "Oh wow, you're really good at this, Killua. Did you ever made bracelets too?"

"No," Killua answered before a shot of memory passed his mind, "Well... Maybe one time." He recalled the well-tangled bracelet he made out of colorful yarn, two bracelets in fact, with one he gifted to_ them_, but since he was forced to forget that person, he also forgot the meaning of that bracelet he wore, and thought nothing of it when his mother asked him for it and he gave it away without hesitation or knowing. "I don't have it anymore though."

"We can make another one for you then!" Emma suddenly suggested.

Gon immediately agreed, "Yeah! We'll make one for you too, Emma!"

"You know we don't have time to play around, right?" Killua reminded them, halfway finishing his rope.

They later made each other bracelets anyway. All three bracelets for each of the children, with Emma and Gon giving one to Killua much to his own hidden embarrassment, and finishing making their ropes for the snare traps that Garou helped with as well.

They set up the snare traps then, putting them near the trees and hiding the hoops under leaves. Gon advised Killua to place the **Trap Card: Sticky Webs** at somewhere in the middle of the clearing and hid it underneath some dirt and leaves. A brief flash of a circular holographic shape spread for a few feet against the ground, so that even if whatever comes would not step directly on top of the card, if it's close enough, it will activate.

Emma places a cloth bag at the center of the clearing and releases its corners, exposing the sashimi slices of the Banana Fish meat while Garou watched her attentively from aside. He catches a whiff of rich fragrance from the Banana Fish meat, no doubt any animal would want to come and have a taste of it. The little girl stood up and patted her pants from the dirt.

"Okay, everything's set," she determined, and looked at Gon and Killua who nodded. Now all that was left to do is hide and wait, and if any of these children knew the process of hunting, or seeking out a target that Garou himself is also aware, patience was the ultimate key here.

And so they hid out of sight, settling behind the bushes as Garou watched them afar, sitting upon a tree in observance. He made his word not to help these children in their hunt, so they were on their own from now on, at least until otherwise. He was honestly curious to see what these little runts can do together.

Emma remained attentive to her Monster Tracker for any monster presence that might come within the vicinity, but she'd also kept her focus on the area that was right in front of them, kneeling behind the bushes in silence as Gon and Killua were near. If and when the monster arrives, they shall surround it at once with her bow and arrow at hands and whatever Gon and Killua may use to completely subdue the monster. And so they waited.

And waited they did.

Few hours felt to have passed. Normally most people would begin to feel tired or irritatingly agitated for something to happen, especially children. However, Gon is a professional hunter, Killua is a professional assassin, both held experience in waiting for the right moment when they may expect to take their targeted prey.

Emma is an exuberant child, but knew when patience is in order, and when she must take her time for everything to go accordingly. Garou is a hunter of his own right, having been well-disciplined in the art of patience, knowing when to bide himself time until the moment comes for him to shine, and brutally take down all those he targets whether they or he himself is ready or not. For now though, he shall see what these children can do together.

The Monster Tracker alerted Emma then, a monster presence was detected to have entered the fifty-meter vicinity. She looks down at the screen at once, "There's a monster coming from the west."

Gon and Killua readied themselves. Emma tracks the monster movements across the screen, and frowned, "It's... moving weirdly."

"What do you mean?" Gon asked her.

"It's kind of zig-zagging, like a snake or-"

Her eyes widened at a change in the monster's position, "It's suddenly close." As if it just slid its way over.

Garou, who had been calmly observant with his back leisurely against the tree bark, suddenly felt heightened at a closing presence he instinctively sensed, evident enough when he heard the trees rustle loudly by the abrupt strong gust.

Emma gasped out, "It's behind us!"

A large shadow fell over Garou and he stood up, eyes looking behind him and up to the sky. "Oh shoot-!"

The children looked back. Garou jumped out of the direct way of a huge elongated figure crashes its large head through the bushes of the tree and he grabbed it by the end of its tail. Emma, Gon, and Killua ran separate directions - Gon and Killua to the left and Emma to the right - as the creature fell towards them, knocking down several trees and crushing woods.

Garou pulled himself by the monster's tail and threw his knee, striking the lower worm-like body and with enough force to have it pushed over where the children were stationed at, and tumbled over to the clearing. He lets go of the tail and was thrown to the other side of the clearing, barely reached the ground he dug his fingers into and stopped himself just at the edge of the cliff.

The monster slid across the ground momentarily and wormed around to the side of the curved clearing. A vicious roar escaped the massive mouth of its shark-like teeth with two wide fangs, its wings like fins that retracted back into the side of its body, dark red scales with a white underbelly that had stem-like warts. It had barely missed hitting the children if not for their immediate reaction, and Garou's act to push it away.

**[Monster Identified]** Emma's Monster Tracker announced, **[Crimson Splitjaw].**

The Crimson Splitjaw bounced across the ground a couple of times before recovering quickly, it's fat body slithered to the edge of the area, and with its open huge mouth, takes a chunk of the ground that the Banana Fish meat was placed upon, tearing the bait apart with its hundreds of teeth.

"It was flying?" Emma registered. No wonder the movements of the detected presence were so strange, it had been soaring across the sky when it caught the scent of the Banana Fish meat. This was a severe oversight, she should have considered their next monster to be one that could fly, they would have been more prepared for that, and with that feetless body and enormous size, none of their snare traps will work on this creature, let alone held it for long as it can easily knock down trees. Could the effects of the poison even affect such a creature of that size?

What's more, the unprecedented way of movements of their lured monster that wriggled upon landing, it rounded the area rather than through it, missing their planted Trap Card. Gon and Killua had also realized this. They both had considered the possibilities of what monster may arrive; sizes, durability, speed, strength, but they did not consider the monster's way of mobility. This bait and lure tactic, which Killua had known, was a gamble in itself, the same way of getting a random prize from the slot machine. But the children remained calm, it was unforeseen, but a hunt was never guaranteed to go as they hope. They simply have to readjust their plans and adapt to the situation.

Then another problem had revealed itself, in the shape of that dark hunter who had just managed to prevent himself from falling out of the cliff. Gulping down the Banana Fish meat that was a small portion for its large body, the Crimson Splitjaw turned its over-sized head for Garou, and steadily slithered towards him as he climbed up from the cliff's edge and stood up.

"Huh? Oh, you want to get a piece of me first, you damn lizard-slug?" Garou assessed the coming creature, and he enters a fighting stance, "Fine by me. I'll slaughter you."

"Hah!"

A small fist punched the side of the Crimson Splitjaw and knocked it aside into slamming its body against the tree, a pained bellow from its massive mouth of vicious teeth. Garou looked on surprised. Gon had abruptly come out of hiding and ran up to the monster, throwing a heavy-impact from such a little hand.

"This is our hunt!" The boy shouted, a message meant for the silver-haired dark competitor to hear. "We're not letting you have it!"

A rustle from the top of the tree and a figure jumped to the air. Overhead and near the monster with frazzled white hair, Killua threw his several-ton yo-yo with a sharp whizz of the string, slamming the toy against the Crimson Splitjaw's head.

"Don't try to undermine us!" Killua joined as he fell closer to the monster. Electrical energy discharged from his hand as Gon reared his fist back and clenched over his knuckles.

"Because we're professional Hunters!" They loudly declared.

The pale, electrical ignited hand slammed against the scaly skin of the Crimson Splitjaw. An ear-piercing sheer cry from the Crimson Splitjaw, trapped and tangled in the powerful lashes of Killua's **Lightning Palm** that the hairs of Garou and Emma stood up, the girl watching from the bushes while holding her bow and arrows. In waiting, watching and trusting how things will unfold by those boys of amazing capabilities.

The monster was stunned by Killua's attack, unable to move from its place.** "Jan!"** Gon's fist pressed against his other palm, power builds up in his hand that made Garou's stomach churned in unpleasant remembrance. **"Ken!"**

Standing right beside the stunned Crimson Splitjaw that was several times his own size, he threw his fist for it.** "GUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"**

A great power unleashed by the knuckles of his Nen-infused fist, it punched the side of the the Crimson Splitjaw, igniting a high-pitch, monstrous scream in pain. Its body was forced to the center of the clearing.

Emma held her bow in a hope-filled clutch, _Please hit it. Please. Please-!_

The Crimson Splitjaw crashed and bounced for a few times, breaking small chunks of the ground and slid across the dirt. A sudden contact shone between the back of the Crimson Splitjaw and their hidden trap, a glow unearthing from the covering leaves and dirt over the concealed card.

**[Trap Card Activated: Sticky Webs]**

A web-shape silhouette appeared beneath where the Crimson Splitjaw's landed. As the creature wriggled it's whole body with a bruised side and steaming scales lingering with static, it tangled within the appeared web of the activated Trap Card, and after instances of harsh flailing, was soon coated by the strings of substances that sticks relentlessly to its whole form, gradually halting its movements as the Crimson Splitjaw struggles to break free.

"They did it!" Emma cheered, happy at the success, but it was not over yet. They must now collect their stars from the beast, which means they must completely subdue the creature.

That applies to the only logical option, however, Emma had previously proposed another solution.

_"You want us to let go of whatever we capture?" Killua had asked her this when they were traveling through the forest, after leaving the Secret Garden of their new-found friendly little creatures._

_"Yeah, I've been thinking about it lately," Emma told him and Gon. "If all we need is to get a piece of the monster, then we don't necessarily have to kill it. Right?"_

_"That's a good point," Gon said. "Actually, when me and Killua were hunting for our first star. The first monster we caught, we managed to break off its horn first, and it turned into a star before we were able to take it down. It was this big monster bull we both went out to hunt for a village full of starving people. They were the ones who told us about Support Cards, and even gave us one card that we've later used on another monster."_

_Gon smiled at Emma, "I had the same idea that you did. It did kind of felt wrong to just kill a monster and leaving it there, so after we've managed to hold down the second monster, I got Killua to agree letting it go after getting two pieces from it, and they were still able to change into stars."_

_"But we can't do that with every monster we hunt," Killua said. "For one thing, it's a lot less of an issue if we deal with the monster first, and we at least have one less enemy to worry about, otherwise we might accidentally come across it again."_

_"I wouldn't want you guys to endanger yourselves," Emma quickly asserts, "If it's to protect yourself then it can't be helped, but... well, it's like this. The Frenzy Boar I first hunted, I kept its hide so that it would keep me warm at night, and eventually gave it to our friend Connor as a gift of thanks for taking me into their village and helping me as much as they did. We're also going to use the Banana Fish meat as bait, and I even still have its poison needles on me just in case. If whatever we hunt we ended up killing, I would rather not have it all wasted."_

_"I doubt that guy behind us will be okay with it," Killua looked back at the following competitor behind them by fifteen feet. His head perked up with interest at whatever discussion the children were quietly exchanging. "You can't convince him with everything."_

_"It wouldn't hurt to try, and besides, it's our monster we're hunting for. He's letting us go for that, as long as we can get a star from the monster and keep up with his terms," Emma stated factually. "We shouldn't need to always kill, even if its to get our stars. Unless it's to protect yourself or someone else."_

_Killing to survive. Eat what was earned or given generously, in order for one to continue living. Emma remembered when Sonju had told her this; _All of nature's bounty should be treated with respect and honor, not to indulge so greedily, without just cause, or even for the sport of it if only to just leave it to waste. Not for reasons that would defend oneself, but the most ludicrous and insulting reason that simply, because they can. He_ said it as if he was recounting a past memory or person he knew aside from Musica. A person of selfishness and cruelty._

_Recalling those words, Emma had wondered if perhaps Sonju, in his life of longevity, he might have known or met that certain demon in dark clothing, a truly demonic personality, accompanied by a one-eyed monkey on his shoulder._

_"I think its worth a shot," Gon said. "Unless whatever monster we find, we can bring it back for those little monsters to have, but I think they're all vegetarians. I once offered Growlithe-" as Emma had told him earlier, the name of the tiger-pup's species identified by her tracker, "- some of the steaks the Kijin gave us, but he didn't want it, and found some berries to eat instead."_

_Killua looked to consider, "Look, if it's possible, and if whatever monster we lure in isn't that much trouble, then fine. We'll let it go after we get our stars from it."_

_Emma smiled happily. Gon especially looked at his friend proudly. Proud that the assassin would allow options involving a life, rather than the simple answer that has been marred into his being since birth, the long years of training torched into his body that he has been breaking free from since his formed friendship of the young Hunter by his side. Killing was all Killua has ever known, but since meeting Gon, he has proved himself that he was more than that. That he was capable of more than just that._

_But he also knows that he might be the only one among them who will not hesitate to make the hard decision if called for it, something that neither Gon or Emma will likely make. For that, if the monster will be an obvious threat, he will ensure to end its life. __Just the same as for that silver-haired competitor behind them. If Garou will make true to his word later down the road, he will fight to kill if that is what this competition and others will entitle._

The Crimson Splitjaw was cocooned in a layer of web strings, its struggle was slowed as it could not find any more freedom, nor strength to break free after suffering from Gon's Jajaken. Gon takes a breather as Killua landed and walks to his side. "Alright! We caught it!" Gon said with exuberance.

Happy at the sight of their successful capture, Emma starts to move out of the bushes. They ought to hurry and gain a star before the Crimson Splitjaw were to recover and gain enough stamina to break free from the web. It was uncertain how strong the Trap Card was to hold down the big monster for long, so they should not waste any time. With the way it is subdued, they should be able to take a piece of its scales without so much trouble. Then if the Sticky Webs can be proven to be easy to slice off, they might allow it to go freely after ensuring their own distance, hidden selves and safety.

She had just stepped into the clearing when her tracker suddenly beeped, stopping her at once. She quickly grabbed and examined the screen.

Her eyes widened in shock. _What?! But that's-!_

Garou leaves his stance, watching with a mild impression as Gon and Killua steadily grow closer to the captured Crimson Splitjaw, "Professional Hunters huh? Wonder if I could be... Nah, I don't need anyone to lecture me how a hunter should be."

Those boys were decent fighters, he noted. Not to his level of course, but they have good teamwork. It was obvious enough that Gon's power takes time to unleash, leaving him defenseless and for anyone fast enough to interrupt his charge. In the meantime, Killua would distract the enemy, and with whatever power he used that felt most certainly to be an electrical shock, he would stun the enemy long enough for Gon to finish up powering his fist to throw against any target.

An ability that relies on another, which means if they were alone, they would not be as effective in battle. Guess he knows how he can defeat them once he makes due of their rematch the next time they crossed each other. That white-haired kid seemed the most tactical, and overall, might be the most dangerous - though that boy in green should not be taken lightly. That stun-grasp attack Killua attempted was ineffective against Garou, so he would be no problem, just needed to be more careful around.

"Everyone! There's another monster here!"

They were all startled when they heard Emma, her face urgent as she ran entering the clearing, bringing them this news.

"Where-?" Killua started to ask. She immediately answered before he could finish.

"It's right here! Right where we are!"

When she looked at the map of her Tracker, she didn't understand at first. Excluding the presence of Garou and the Crimson Splitjaw, there was a third presence that suddenly appeared in the middle of the grid map. Not something that just entered within the fifty meter range, but a monster's presence that just appeared out of nowhere, detected in the near middle of the clearing.

She had looked above them, but there was no monster seen in the sky. Furthermore, the movements of the monster was much more steady than it did for the Crimson Splitjaw due to it taking flight in the beginning. The third detected presence in her map had then continued to move for the center, passing the monster, her friends and the silver-haired yound man, the continuing towards the edge of the cliff.

If the monster was not above them, yet was not seen in the clearing, then that means-!

"It's underground! It's coming for you, Garou!"

Garou perked up, and his focus shot for the ground he stood, waiting to feel with his feet of any creature about to emerge. He heard a deep growl that breathed at his back and a chill traveled up his back. Sudden darkness fell over his figure that stretched further across the clearing. Terror enveloped Emma's eyes, Gon and Killua gawked openly in widened shock. He threw his head back, looking up at what was glaring down behind his whole being.

Unknown to any of them, there had been an entrance to an underground cave at the side of this cliff, it was wide with many jagged upside-down rocks that made into a mouth of a giant monster with crooked teeth. Climbing through the entrance of the cave and up to the cliff, disturbed by the noises and mild quaking at the surface that had been bothersome enough, a massive, long snake-like creature with dark purple-black skin, long and wild white hair around its head of a terrifying, monstrous look of a reptilian-like thing, showing its rows of red teeth, a hiss-growl sipping through its open square shaped lips.

Three round, yellow reptilian eyes that stuck out as if they were each a snake of their own, examining the small preys that stood at the surface. It's massive claws of blood-red nails clenched the side of the cliff with a crushing force, becoming nothing more but pinches of dirt in its grip as it clung to the edge

A Devil Serpent. A far larger one than the one the children witnessed Garou had hunted, one that the Monster Tracker Emma held to identified with updated information. What was Garou's most difficult beast to defeat, that was really a runt compared to others of its own kind. A **Demon Devil Serpent**.

"Oh crap..." Garou uttered in a quiet voice and eyes aghast, his skin trickled in a contained unsettle as he looked up to the _tower_ behind him. He has seen bigger monsters, but this one had such a wild-presence to it, there was no capability of human-like intelligence that at least the monsters of his world were capable of. No sense of thought behind those round, reptilian eyes, only pure wild instincts driven by its vicious nature, and drooling red teeth that savored the sight of the petite prey in its perspective.

Gon could not control his tremble at the sight of the massive beast, barely retreating his feet back as his instincts screamed at him to immediately flee. Killua latched onto his nerves, but his years of cold discretion in the job of assassination did not prepare him to face such a terrible and enormous beast, containing a shaking utterance behind his clenched teeth. He and Gon had never dealt with anything_ like_ this thing, the closest they have to experience a wild beast was the monsters on Greed Island, but even those monsters were simply mischievous creatures meant to train Gon. The Chimera Ants couldn't even compare to the size of this.

Emma stared in appalled, so in fear that she could hardly move at all to even physically quiver at the presence of the enormous monster that surpassed the size of that Greymon, and might have been equal in size of that titan she once saw in that forest where the Kijin lived, but certainly much greater in length with its long serpent-like body that poked out from the edge of the cliff. Even the Wild Demons were not this big, they might as well have been bears as opposed to this building-size creature.

Two of the Devil Serpent's creepy yellow eyes directed at the slow retreating children, the third one looks down at Garou. A roar erupted from the monster, a horrible tremor-causing sound that sends the children's hands up to cover their ears, terror shot at the pit of their stomachs. The monster dunked its head for Garou, its mouth wide open to eat him whole.

Garou immediately dashed forward. Gon and Killua quickly ran aside as they prepped their minds to fight this creature. Gon yells for Emma to run, but saw what she held in her hands.

"GET DOWN!" Emma screamed. She had switched her bow and arrow with her rifle, intuitively believing that this monster cannot be struck down by mere arrows, and she must save her gifted Enchanted Arrows of very limited ammo for when it is truly needed. Steeling her frantic heart full of fear, she steadied her raised arms, her eyes emptied of all uncertainty and terror. She locked sight with the three eyed Large Devil Serpent, and pulls the trigger.

A rapid fire of multiple bullets shot from the barrel of her rifle. Surprised that the hunting rifle was actually an automatic weapon, Garou instantly ducked his head and sprinted to the side, though she ensured the bullets would never hit him, keeping her arms steady as bullets pierced through the eyes of the Devil Serpent. The Devil Serpent's head snapped back and it roared out in pain, shutting three of its eyes closed as its face and throat was struck with hundreds of bullets.

"Let's go! Now!" Emma shouted for the rest of the group. They must rethink their approach with the unprecedented presence of this massive monster.

Seeing this chance to retreat momentarily, Gon, Killua, and Garou ran from the Devil Serpent. The monster serpent crawled over from the edge of the cliff, wriggling itself from the number of bullets its tough skin was enduring. One yellow eye propped open with droplets of blood, and spotted its gun-shooting attacker. It slammed its claws against the ground that cracked under its pressure and hustled for her direction.

A dreaded sensation tackled her as she already started to run, looking back at the Devil Serpent who had its sights on her. "Emma!" Gon came to her at once, pushing with her for the trees.

**"Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist!"**

Garou turned his feet and launched himself, his open-palm attack struck the Devil Serpent from one side of its face. A series of quick thrashing that sliced and carved into the skin of the monster, blood spurted from its open wounds. A terrible holler came out of the Devil Serpent's mouth, and giving Gon and Emma the chance to take hiding behind the trees at the edge of the clearing.

The Devil Serpent changed its target to Garou. The side of its long body whipped across and to the center of the clearing, striking the trapped Crimson Splitjaw that released a growling screech. With the sticky substance of the web the Crimson Splitjaw was cocooned in, the trapped monster became an unwilling passenger of the Devil Serpent as it instantly stuck to the lower side of the Devil Serpent's long body.

Garou sprinted across the clearing as it avoided the head of the Devil Serpent that chased after his form. When the three-eyed serpent lunged its head for him, Garou leaped up, a high jump of inhumane feat, and landed upon the head of the Devil Serpent.

**"Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!"**

An onslaught from his fists that flowed like water yet fired like fists, beating down the skull of the Devil Serpent whose brain could feel the weight of his relentless impact. The Devil Serpent writhed itself, shaking its head to remove Garou, rolling itself to crush its attacker. Garou jumped and landed upon the long large body of the three-eyed massive serpent, and ran across it like maneuvering on foot over constantly shifting hills.

From a certain distance beside the trees, Emma observed the huge creature with a heart beating of trepidation, and amazement of the close-combatant that was moving all around the body of the Devil Serpent within such daring proximity. She had also witnessed their captured Crimson Splitjaw be suddenly picked up by the skin of the bigger beast, though that was now the least of their worries.

"What should we do?" She thinks to herself out loud. "Garou's already fighting it. This is also our chance to get our stars, but with a monster like that..."

When she had fought against Lewis, she was able to determine what sort of demon that was, and would do next to a certain point. She could correctly predict his next move, and even accurately assume his mindset based on the sort of character she was able to decipher through Lucas' account of the Demon. That was because Lewis was a Demon with independent thoughts, a personality, with a certain pattern to his behavior and methods of hunting cattle children. He was an individual she could analyze, and her only miscalculation was that she underestimated the extent of his cunning nature and durability.

This monster, however, was a wild creature, unpredictable and purely chaotic. She cannot be certain what to expect from it, it was essentially like fighting wild demons, only much bigger and wider in length. Based on the damage it took from Garou and appearing to still suffer from it, it was not a monster that could regenerate, so they may have a shot. However, she was still unsure of what other ability it may have, if it was poisonous or if it could spit fire as she witnessed that Greymon do. She has to consider everything, and make sure that none of them will be killed-

"We can do this."

She turns her head to Gon, his eyes light with calming, resoluteness. "We came all this way so that we would get our stars. This might be our one and only chance until tomorrow."

He offered his hand to her, "It'll be alright. As long as we work together, we can fight it!"

Gon was right. Emma knew this. If they don't make use of this opportunity now, then they would be less assured of their total entrance to this competition, and risked losing their chance to help the ones waiting back home. Settled by his encouragement, Emma grabbed Gon's hand in a reassured squeezed, "Right. Let's beat it together!"

Killua dashed around the clearing behind the trees, eyeing the battle between monster and human monster as he attempts to put together a plan in his head. _That thing has our monster stuck to it's side, unless me and Gon are willing to risk ourselves just to get even one scale or hair from either of these monsters, we have to kill this monster right now._

As Killua considered his options, Garou ran across the wobbly black road the Devil Serpent's long body made, "How about this then?!"

The fighter revved his fists of baring fang-like fingers and punched the side of the Devil Serpent's throat several times at once, a strike that jerked the flexible neck of the Devil Serpent and it roared pain. He jumped from another curled section of the Devil Serpent and jumps for the head once more.

The Devil Serpent's mouth shuts close. The cheeks of the three-eyed serpent suddenly puffed, and at the sight of it, memory resurfaced form Garou's previous battle with the Devil Serpent runt. He widely panicked, "Oh shoot-!"

He lost momentum on purpose and curled back, a wallop of green liquid shot out from the monster's lips, barely passing Garou's front as he felt the intense heat and nasty scent of the spit. It splashed against the several trees at the edge of the clearing, and in an instant, the wood and leaves, and even some parts of the ground as well, melted into nothing but deteriorating chunks, eaten away by the burning green liquid that seared a putrid smelling steam.

"Acid?!" Killua shouted has he looked around a tree, "Damn! I don't think even our **Ken** can protect us from that."

Garou drops to the lower section of the Devil Serpent's throat, using as leverage to leap and return to the clearing where he resumed his sprint around the monster. The Devil Serpent chased after him with its acid dripping, blood colored teeth.

A barrage of bullets attacked the side of the Devil Serpent's face and the monster recoiled. Emma emerged from the bushes and fired consecutive rounds from her assault rifle, keeping herself distant and garnering the Devil Serpent's attention. It turns its head for her until it felt another powerful punch struck its body.

"Hey! You're still dealing with me! I want some attention too you know?!" Garou taunted the creature. Rather than turn the monster turn its head for him, two of its three wriggly eye slithered and bend over its head. Finding Garou, it swung its the lower section of its body for him. Surprised, Garou quickly brought up his arms and knees in defense and braced the slam of the monster serpent's tail. Bearing the hit, he grabbed the tail and flip himself over as the tail smashed through several trees of the forest's edge.

The Devil Serpent's other eye looked at the girl who glared defiantly at the massive monster, endless infliction from her flesh piercing bullets and launched its head for her. However, a hook suddenly caught the skin of the Devil's Serpent's eyelid, and heaved the eye of the monster.

Gon revealed himself to the creature then, pulling the eye with his fishing rod to focus on him, his presence having been concealed by Zetsu, "Now Emma!"

She shot at the hooked eye of the Devil Serpent, directly into the pupil. A pained shriek from the monster as Gon waved his rod and expertly released his hook from the eyelid of the Devil Serpent, now blinded with its blood in one eye. Enraged, the Devil Serpent swung its long body for the children. Gon quickly picks up Emma, arm around her waist, and backed away from the attack as another heavy hit strikes its shoulder area, delivered by Garou's kicks. Furious of the level of pain and annoyance it was being given, the Devil Serpent shuts its mouth, acid traveled up through its throat and its cheeks were filled.

A yo-yo was thrown over its head, spinning around its extended eyelid, and tied in a tightening clutch of the string that yanked down the eye of the Devil Serpent, disrupting its focus to spit out its acid at the three humans on the field.

Killua, standing from the branch of a tree, tossed another yo-yo for the face of the Devil Serpent. A direct hit to the nostril and the Devil Serpent spilled its acid, drooping down burning green liquid to the front of its body. It flailed its head in agony, pulling Killua along by the string of his yo-yo until he retracted the yo-yo, both of them into both his hands, rolling himself onto the clearing and sprinting away to avoid the spray of acid.

Garou had stepped-climbed to the head of the Devil Serpent, a short jump that had him come down like a missile.

**"Tiger Fang True Fist!"**

Into the eye of the Devil Serpent, he struck his fingers into its pupil and it writhed. A terrible power from his attack that deeply pound and twisted a part of its flesh and seeped into like teeth, a move that he took for himself from fighting another martial artist in his world, one out of many others.

**"Mountain Cordillera Road Fist!"**

He delivered another strong punch with his other fist, another adopted move that could crush a road made of concrete, smashing into the Devil Serpent's face and it monstrously screamed in pain and fury.

A violent writhed from the Devil Serpent as it roared tremendously, a part of its long body entangled by the Sticky Webs that held the unwilling passenger of the Crimson Splitjaw. The ground shook immensely by its struggle, cracks of the earth expanding throughout the area. Gon held under Emma's arm to help her keep her balance. Killua bared with the trembling environment of the fussing movements from the furious Devil Serpent as it attempts to recover from the hits.

Garou landed upon the long body of the serpent, jumping to each curled section. "Not done yet!" He ferociously declared. **"Water Stream Rock-!"**

Before he would dish out another onslaught of his moves, the Devil Serpent slammed its tail into the ground. An instant crush through the surface, the entire clearing cracked into a crumble.

The Devil Serpent and the surprised Garou upon it sink into the broken earth. Emma, Gon, and Killua staggered as the cracks of the trembling ground quickly extends to below their feet. Emma felt the instant drop of her feet as she fell along with the rest of the broken ground chunks. But a sudden handle under her arms and lift of her body pushes her to the edge, and she barely grabbed on in time.

"Hold on!" Gon told Emma as he fell along with the rubble.

"Gon!" Emma shouted his name in horror. Looking down, she watched as Gon found quick footing upon the fallen rubble - while they they still falling - and made it to the ground safely. She felt to sigh in relief, but her mind took attention to the entire clearing, the area including the cliff had collapsed. She saw however that Killua had thrown a yo-yo that rounded and tied around a tree, catching himself just in time, and she too wanted to feel relief, but now that leads to their fourth member, who had fallen along with the Devil Serpent.

"Damn!" Killua, looking up at Emma. "You alright?"

"Yeah! But Gon and Garou-!" She exclaimed worriedly.

He looks back down, "They're fine. Garou's still fighting that monster. I'm heading down."

He pulled the string of his yo-yo and it released itself from the tree, then dropped down he did, a height that even she would thought twice to try to achieve, though could clear from one cliff to the next that was several feet away, this was an entirely different level. But she did not wish to hang on any longer while leaving her friends to themselves down there.

Looking below her feet, she finds a ledge she could make a safe drop to. Accustomed to climbing up and down of a steep hill-like layout of the rock land section at Gracefield, Emma pressed the tips of her shoes against the exterior of the wall, and lets go of the ledge. She slid down the rough surface that gradually grew darker, and landed upon the ledge.

She was inside the underground cave. _So this is where the Devil Serpent came from_, Emma understood at once and then diverted her attention to the source of noise. Below her, she see the Devil Serpent, violently struggling its whole body that pounded against the walls of the cave. Its blood and acid scattering all over itself. She sees Garou was still upon it, clutching tightly. A sprinkle of the acid had dripped onto his back, instantly burning small holes into his black shirt and searing his skin. Emma gasped, but noticed that Garou didn't seem to be in absolute pain from it, maybe miffed by the looks of it, but he simply withstood the burning as he continued to hold onto the Devil Serpent.

She saw Gon and Killua maneuvering around the jagged obstacles of the fallen pieces that made into large boulders. Jumping from one tip to the next to reach the Devil Serpent. Her attention returns to the fierce monster when she saw its swinging tail. The splatter of acid dripped to the edge of the Sticky Web cocoon of the trapped Crimson Splitjaw. It burned through the threads instantly, and from the Devil Serpent's single swing of its tail, launched the Crimson Splitjaw aside, towards Gon and Killua.

_Gon! Killua!_ Emma watches as the boys managed to dodge the launched Crimson Splitjaw, and hurriedly steps down from the ledge, sliding lower to the rubble covered ground.

"Oh great..." Killua muttered. In front of him and Gon while the fuss between the Devil Serpent and Garou resumed far behind them, the Crimson Splitjaw had been freed from its web restraints. The acid that fell upon it agitated the skin of the Crimson Splitjaw, and rustled with its worm-like body for the Hunters.

They prepared to defend themselves against the Crimson Splitjaw when Emma had arrived, firing at the freed monster with her rifle and distracting the lizard-slug. Gon and Killua took her support to their favor. From the ground he stood, Killua leaps over the Crimson Splitjaw while Gon took to the side. Emma halted her firing when she saw the boys move.

A yo-yo was thrown from Killua's hand, striking the back head of the Crimson Splitjaw. After him, Gon threw a strong punch to the side jugular of the monster, knocking it back close to the cavern wall.

"Are you guys okay?" Emma ran to them, her eyes upon the Crimson Splitjaw.

"Yeah," Gon said. "This guy is really tough though."

Killua agreed with a nod. "It might have a regenerative ability. We can try knocking it through the edge," he points to the sharp jaw of the cave's opening, the view of the other canyon far in front of them in faded view. "But this thing could fly. Maybe if we ripped off one of it's wings, it can tumble down without problem. The only thing is its got it hiding right now."

And that wasn't the only problem. They have to figure a way how to defeat the Devil Serpent as well. Killua wasn't sure just how strong Garou was, but he has shown moves that even he admitted were incredible, but that Devil Serpent was no joke.

Speak of the aforementioned monster, they heard and felt a great tremble behind them. "Watch out!" Emma warned and sprinted out of the way, Gon and Killua quickly following along.

The Devil Serpent slithered across the rubble-covered cavern floor. The front of its mouth pushing Garou, his hands grabbing the top of its blood teeth and his toes against the bottom ones. The Crimson Splitjaw avoided the direct incoming monster serpent, but the whip of its slithering body had knocked it back against the wall. The Devil Serpent reached to the edge with Garou the first to feel the air of the outside, below him was the dark descent that could not be seen for miles.

He looked down to it only once. It was a drop he honestly didn't want to know if he'll survive, especially with whatever awaits down there. He feels the closing pressure of the Devil Serpent's mouth, trying to closed its sharp teeth and Garou in between. When it felt it struggle, the Devil Serpent settled to simply melt its target, regurgitating yet another acid that could be seen rising from the back of it's tongue.

"Damn your breath sticks," Garou casually said. "Sorry, but I ain't interested in being anyone's food. Let's see you try getting a bite out of me."

Clutching the Devil Serpent's red tooth in each hand tightly, he forced his fingers to closed. An instant crack, and immediate break. The teeth shattered in his hands. The Devil Serpent was startled, and the, intense sharp pain shot to his gums that suffered broken fangs, it breathed out its blood-curdling scream that tackled Garou's front form, a sip of its acid leaking out. He withstood against the deafening scream and flipped himself over just in time to avoid the acid.

"I'm taking you out now. Got it? I don't hunt monsters," He landed at the back of the Devil Serpent's head, "But for today, you're my prey."

Now become his food.

He bared both hands that flowed into fast motions like rushing river streams. The memory of his brutal fight against his teacher and his teacher's brother - masters of their own individual martial arts technique, two of the greatest Martial Artists of his world, joined to defeat the persisting and already battered Hero Hunter. A devastating combined technique between the two old men that took Garou everything he had to not fall unconscious and possibly die from it.

A technique that required two fighters to unleash, for it was impossible to impose by one person.

But Garou did not held himself down with such declared limitations. Imagining the two fighters as one in his head, he threw his unforgiving fists forward fantastic speed.

**Cross Fang Dragon Slayer Fist!**

A session of truly devastating attacks, deep cross-cutting and relentless punches all at once in an unbelievable feat no other martial artist in his world could accomplish, trailing down the flesh of the Devil Serpent's long body the further he ran, his punches like cannonballs that pierced into the beast and creating gaping holes, his thrusts like sharp swords that sliced the sleek exterior of the three-eyed serpent, where the pink meat of the serpent monster could be seen. It was a move that defeated the previous runt Devil Serpent Garou had came across, a move meant to be the killing blow several times over.

A horrible pained cry that shook the whole area, the Devil Serpent braced the killing blows with tremendous endurance as several wounds were made most of its body. Fury and anger colored its eyes and body with splattered blood, searching for Garou who was still traversing upon its body, passing by the knocked down Crimson Splitjaw, a single extended wing slipping through, flapping uselessly as it did not have the room to take flight.

Gon and Emma openly showed their amazement at the move demonstrated by the dark hunter. Killua only remained attentive to the severely wounded monster as it struggled to retreat itself from the edge. _This is our chance!_

Emma caught onto this as well as soon as she reverts her attention to the Devil Serpent. But she looks up at the sight of the Crimson Serpent that quickly wormed its way over the body of the Devil Serpent.

An idea bloomed in her head. Lowering her rifle, she reaches the side of her pants. "Gon! Killua! Above us!"

They looked in time to see the Crimson Splitjaw leap from the body of the Devil Serpent, and with its wings expanded, soared down for the children. Garou had just reached the tail of the Devil Serpent when he looked back. His eyes widened, "Oh shi-!"

His speed burst for them, but as he did so. Emma pulled out her four-barrel pistol, instantly clicking to the desired barrel, and pulled the trigger just as Gon and Killua took to the front to attack.

The bullet struck the Crimson Splitjaw's bottom, Killua pushes Emma aside as Gon jumps left. The bullet exterior had broken apart, and bursting out, long strings of unknown substances spread across the Crimson Splitjaw's body, once more entangling it in yet another goop trap. The substance had also touched the skin of the flailing Devil Serpent, the long body having struck the Crimson Splitjaw once again, and once more, the Crimson Splitjaw was stuck to its side.

"Gon! Garou! Push it off the cliff!" Emma shouted.

Garou stopped just as he was beside Gon. The boy took regard of her words and immediately understood before Garou did. "Got it! Let's go, old guy!"

A vein popped the side of Garou's neck as Gon hurries to the back of the Devil Serpent, "I told you I'm eighteen!"

"Sorry! I forgot!"

"I'm going to hit you so hard in the head next round..."

Garou started for Gon's direction, but noticed the Crimson Serpent still struggling, although the sticky substances has it trapped against the body of the Devil Serpent, its head was not covered by the net, and it reached out for Emma and Killua.

Garou sharply steps back to them as Killua stands against it up front. An arrow shot into the head of the Crimson Splitjaw and it staggered its attempt to eat them.

"We're fine!' Emma told Garou, holding her bow and ready to shoot the next arrow. "Go now!"

Her words had Garou realized himself. A short second of hesitation, he turns, his sight of Emma and Killua lingered before he dashed for the end of the Large Devil Serpent. _I'm not helping, I just want to get rid of this serpent already._ There was no time to openly complain. They either deal with this monster now, or not. He decides to hurry it up, and said nothing in response.

He rushes to the back of the Devil Serpent. Emma fired another arrow that carved the cheek of the Crimson Splitjaw and zipped past it. Killua threw both his yo-yos, and they slammed against the Crimson Splitjaw's face, forcing it back to the body of the Devil Serpent. The Devil Serpent had then gained itself enough grip at the side of the canyon they were on, raising its head and looked back.

**"Jan!"**

Gon was there at the lower end of its body, fist reared back to his side and showing his shoulder. Further beyond the boy, Garou stood at the end of the Devil Serpent's tail, a deep intake of its breath, his body lowered with his hands against the ground, his knees bend and one leg stretching further back, foot pushing the gravel.

The Devil Serpent sensed imminent doom, and it did the only thing it knew it must do. Acid rises through his throat.

Garou sprinted forward, like a bullet-train, he skips each curled section of the Devil Serpent's body as its cheeks puffed once more. Before Gon would reach the second word of his growing power, the fighter instantly reached the face of the Devil Serpent, facing the exposed reaction of genuine shock from the beast, his face intent for its demise.

**"Ken!"**

**"Tanktop Blow!"** A move he copied after the defeat of his first ever S-Class hero to hunt, Garou punched straight into the forehead of the Devil Serpent. Its brain slammed against the back of inside its skull. The shock of his powerful strike had it gulped down its acid back to its stomach, and the Devil Serpent was pushed back.

**"GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"**

Gon struck the lower half of the Devil Serpent, a powerful force that traveled all across the long massive body of the Devil Serpent. In truth, it was no different from the punches Garou inflicted save for his latest devastating killer moves, but it was enough power for the Devil Serpent to be forced beyond the cliff of the cave entrance, and could not hold on, nor did it have a lucid enough brain to try.

Killua lifted Emma, his arm and shoulder under hers, and jumped to avoid the whipped long body of the Devil Serpent that smacked against the cavern wall, dragging the Crimson Splitjaw along that let out a futile roar. The Devil Serpent, along with the Crimson Splitjaw, fell together into the abyss between the canyons, their horror-driven roar echoed through the valley, until it became nothing more than just an echo the further they descended into the depths of darkness.

Hopping back down, Killua releases Emma and together, they looked below over the cliff of the cave, seeing the silhouette of the terrifying monster faded within the black deepness of a see-less bottom. Garou drops beside them, causing the children's head to turn to him, and watched as he approached their side. His eyes directed towards where the Devil Serpent fell, and crouched to look below. Gon soon joins them, a hurried approach that slowed into a walk, looking at Garou and his friends, and then eyeing down the seemingly bottomless pit.

...

...

...

..._bam._ A faint sound of a body finally hitting the distant ground.

They looked down at it for another moment, seeing a few feathered winged creatures passing by below them, and finally retreats back into the cave.

"We did it..." Emma uttered out quietly, looking to Gon who looked her way. A smile appearing in his face as her stars to bloom as well. "We did it!"

Emma hopped towards Gon hugged him at once. Her heart fluttered with astounding relief and joy. He returned her gesture happily and with an even wider, teeth-showing smile. "You guys were amazing! Seriously! You, Killua! You two are like the strongest kids ever!"

Killua inserts his hand into his pockets, a small show of his own smile of relief. It certainly was a close one.

"You helped us a lot too, Emma," Gon told her. "It's too bad that we didn't get our stars though."

"Easy for you to say."

The children turned to Garou. In his hand, he showed him a single piece that was the size of his palm, the blood-red tooth he managed to keep a hold of. "I got mine."

"Oh! You did!" Emma released her hug of Gon. "That's great! I'm really happy for you!"

Garou hummed at the brightly expressed girl, and looked at the piece of blood tooth until a glow enveloped it. Shrinking the tooth, the monster piece transformed into a gold star. "That makes four..." He was getting back on track. One more and he'll pass this Preliminary.

"Darn..." Gon said with a frown, "And we used that Support Card for that first monster we've lured in. I'm sorry," he apologized to Emma, "I really wanted to help you get your stars today."

An abrupt recall in her eyes, Emma looked at the other end of the cave and suddenly jogs to it, passing Garou as he watched her curiously.

"Where are you going?" Killua asked her. They watched as she stopped by a wall and scours the ground. They followed her and observed in wonder whatever she was doing. She suddenly stands up and turns back to them.

"It's alright! Look."

The looked at her showed hand. "Ah-!"

In her small hand was the second arrow she had fired at the Crimson Splitjaw, and with the arrow, a single red scale was stuck to the tip of the arrowhead that had a strange black substance to it. "I've used some tar-glue the Kijin Clan gave to me while they were helping us get well-prepared for our journey. It was from a girl who liked doing art, she gave me this in a tiny jar, and said that if I ever wanted to draw something, I can use this to stick leaves onto it and make a picture."

She scratched her head, "I thought it was sweet, and it wasn't that much to carry so I accepted it. I thought of using it while we were waiting for that Crimson Splitjaw, so it put it on a few arrows just in case we might need to run away, but still be able to get a piece of the monster while we're at it. But then all that stuff happened with that serpent monster none of us were expecting, I couldn't really find the right moment to just use it. Getting stars would have meant little to me, when I first needed to make sure to help all of you. I'm kind of upset though that I only got one scale from that monster."

"That's really clever though!" Gon commended her. "Now you and Garou have four stars! Just one more stars and we'll enter the competition officially!"

"Really wished you'd mention something like that before though..." Killua stated.

Emma looked down sheepishly. "To tell you the truth, I had the idea just moments ago. I kind of got a little bored waiting so I just fiddled some stuff in my backpack for a little bit."

"Hm. Well, it worked out well enough for you anyway. It turned out to be good thinking."

Killua looked up to the mountain ceiling sky. An orange hue emitting from the surface, "Whoa... Guess there is a time-zone inside this place. Must be from those light stones."

"Which means it's going to get dark soon," Gon understood. "Let's hurry back to that hidden field then."

The children nodded in agreement as Garou examined above them. "Starting tomorrow," Gon started, "We'll get our fifth star for sure."

"We'll need to really hustle then," Killua stated. "We were never told specifically how long we have for the last day. It could be that we'll have until sundown tomorrow before we should all have our fifth stars by then, and whether that means we have to be at a certain gathering spot. Which means we'll need to keep that Travel card safe if we ever need to get out of this place fast."

Emma agreed, "Right. Let's all get back and have a good rest. Good work today guys. We'll work even harder tomorrow!"

"Osu!" The boys affirmatively cheered.

Garou regarded the children with a blank, observant look. _Guess these runts really are something._ Even that girl, for her lack of power that failed to compare to himself and even to those boys, with her bow and arrow and that automatic weapon on her - who gives a kid what's practically a machine gun? - she had her wit and clever tricks under her sleeves, especially with that four-barrel pistol on her. He wondered if there were other effects her bullets could do.

"Mister Garou?"

Emma addressed him then, he looked directly at her. "How many times do I have to tell you? I ain't old, and forget formalities. Just Garou is fine."

"Ah. Right... I just want to say that you were really incredible."

He blinked at her.

"Really. You were really strong. I've never seen martial arts before, so watching you fight the way you did," she paused for a bit, struggling to find the words that came in so many to describe her witness of his abilities. "You were really cool."

He stared at her then. A slight purse of his lips that took her words in consideration and his eyes sparked with a sense of amusement. He held his hips and leaned forward somewhat to look just above her eye-level, tilting his head slightly, "Aren't I?"

She nodded. "You were basically superhuman. Actually, I'm still wondering if you are human. You are human, right?" It could be that her tracker was undergoing an error for this particular person, she honestly felt that he was human, and so far, aside from his incredible fighting abilities, he'd never shown any physical monstrous attributes that would identify him as a monster, something that Emma would only understood if she sees it for herself.

He took a moment to answer, turning for and walking towards the wall before he did, "You seem to be a smart kid. I'll let you figure that one out."

He proceeded to jump from one ledge to the next, already at the top and back from where they had fallen from. The children watched as the man waited by the edge and they faced each other.

"I'll admit, he's good at fighting," Killua said. "We really dodged a bullet letting him come along instead of us fighting."

"Yeah. But to be honest," Gon said, looking at his hand which he clenched, "It actually makes me feel excited. There really are strong competitors here in this competition, and who know what other strong people we might meet."

What started off as his vindictive feelings towards the dark hunter, has now blossomed with the intrigue to face such a strong opponent. To better himself, and to prepare for the future that awaits them. To think that such a strong opponent will keep his word of payback against himself and Killua, his nerves shook inside, a sense of fear meshed with exhilaration that a boy of endless wonder could only experience.

Emma's expression dwindled as she was reminded of the deal between the boys and Garou. Do they really have to keep their word at this point? After helping each other this far? Maybe she can convince Garou to rescind the promise for Gon and Killua.

The children started their climb up and out of the underground cave, Gon carried Emma to help speed up the effort, and there they met with Garou once more, waiting for their presence.

_He really is just going to stick by us_, Killua cannot tell if he should see the bright side of this, for the amount of strength this guy could inflict when they really need it, or if he should only be even more worried. Seeing the happy accomplishment of today's efforts that Gon and Emma were expressing, Emma gaining her fourth star and Gon having to see that happen, he decides to deal with this thought another time.

Together with succeeding children of today and the leading dark hunter they were allied with, they head back to the hidden field where their friendly little monster friends awaits.

Thus concludes Day Six of the Preliminary.

_Emma: 4 stars._

_Gon: 4 stars._

_Killua: 4 stars._

_Garou: 4 stars._

* * *

**A/N: I would like to make a correction to Garou's knowledge of Pressure Points. Apparently, there is a move he knows called the Pressure Point Killer Fist, though it has so far not been seen yet, none that I know of anyway, so to fix this, I can reason that while Garou is aware of Pressure Point and hitting the right spot can stop the person's nerves to cross the rest of the body, like say he grabs the arm and that arm suddenly loses the ability to move, though I imagine there must be a reason why he does not use this move often, that being:**

**1\. There have to be certain conditions met.**

**2\. The person might have a unique body that won't guarantee this move to be a success, like perhaps the person has too buff of a body or is mechanical like Genos.**

**3\. It might have been a too dangerous move that can actually kill a person he did not intend to kill.**

**Or**

**4\. He HAS been using it, it just doesn't work that often and either he has yet to fully master it, or like two, the target of this attack has too strong of a body.**

**What I can also imagine is that while Garou is familiar with Pressure Points, he likely has never seen a technique that can cause a person to explode after touching said point. That's a whole new and overall terrifying terrain Garou has stumbled upon, but with his previous knowledge of the Pressure Point Killer Fist, he might use it as a first step to mimic the Hokuto No Shinken, though only to a minimal degree, and a higher chance of success would be if he personally sees the technique done, so he may need to watch Kenshiro fight another person and watch the Hokuto No Shinken in action for him to adopt the technique at its considerable percentage of power.**

**I really hope all of you enjoyed this chapter. It took me THREE days I think, to really decide how should this chapter go, from wanting to shorten it to deciding the chapter to just flow naturally no matter how long it would be. I will just have to push the next planned section of this chapter for the next chapter!**

**Then I have to consider all the fighting moves and ways of defeating the Crimson Splitjaw and the Devil Serpent. Kind of felt the need to apply Emma's proof of cleverness even though that tar-glue did came out of nowhere. But it's late and I'm tired and I want Emma to shine rather than be outshone by these stronger characters. So yeah, rewriting for days and night, rearranging moves section with another, hopefully I haven't looked over anything and if something does seem strange, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I'LL FIX IT TOMORROW!**

**Anyway, it was nice tying it all together and finally reaching the final product of this chapter. It's not perfect but I did it and I'm proud of that. Hopefully all of you readers will enjoy it too!**

**Thank you so much for liking this story! I'm really moved to hear some reviews believing this story should have more recognition. It makes me feel so happy of my writing and idea. I know this story has been pushing me off from writing and continuing my other stories, and with this month being the last month of my college spring session (moved to online due to everything that's happening. Stay indoors folks!), I'm just so happy to start this story which makes me excited for the adventure that will unfold and for what our characters will undergo next!**

**I have ideas on pending folks, but I must utilize them well that will make me feel happy with it, and feel proud to post it for all of you to read and tell me your thoughts about it. I adore reviews, they make me feel inspired. Please leave some that are both kind but also honest. Thanks for reading! Stay safe everyone!**


	10. Morning Shadowed by Midnight

Chapter 10: Morning Shadowed by Midnight

It was as they suspected. The mountain ceiling faded from a strange hue of mixed pink-yellow and orange emitted from the embedded Sun Stones, like the colors of a setting sun, into a darker color of bluish-purple and black. A reflection to the state of the changing sky outside this place in matching hours. Fireflies poked out from their hiding spots, dazzling little dots of diamond rocks glowed from the ceiling as if they were stars, and all of Beast Valley was overlay with the substance of night.

Unseen beasts howled throughout the canyons, a faint rumble from heavy footsteps of several faraway creatures. At this time, it would be considered too dangerous to hunt. Who knows what other savage monster they might come across, with the bleak darkness a disadvantage, and many dangerous unknown of unprecedented strength that lurk in the deep wilderness.

It was certainly a matter of discussion, but ultimately, the children agreed that they shall rest for the night. They have had quite the trek all day with only minimal sleep these last few days. Rather than push themselves too far, they should restore their stamina while it was still possible, and make the most efforts for tomorrow. So they retreat to their hidden base, where their befriended little creatures eagerly awaited for their arrival.

In the secret garden lived by the little infant-like monsters, the Pokemons cutely calls in cheer at the group's eventual return as night has taken over the kingdom valley of monsters.

"Hi everyone! We're back!" Emma knelt down and caught the Eevee that pounced into her arms, cuddling the little brown fox in a hug. The Growlithe was thrilled to see Gon once again, clearly having been attached to the young Hunter. The Shinx rubbed its blue and black fur against Killua's leg, a trickling sensation from its body as if dripping with static. The young Assassin patted the head of the Shinx, a small smile on his pale face.

All of the other little Pokemons huddled around the children in welcoming embrace. The children honestly could not keep up, nor prevent themselves from being overwhelmed. A laugh escapes Emma and Gon as so many of them wanted attention and to be picked up.

Garou watched the fuzzy crowd surround the three youngsters. He felt a clenching pinch around his ankle and looked down, "Oh. Here you are."

The Poochyena's teeth clutches his ankle with dark paws holding down his foot, as a dog would to a bone. Garou lightly shook his foot, "I'm not a chew toy, you little mutt."

The Poochyena stubbornly held on and dangled softly at his gentle shake, a proud smile on its adorably rascal of a pup face as it lets out a bark through its teeth. Garou smirked.

Emma noticed a little Chikorita walking towards her, a small fruit it held in its mouth by the green stem. "Huh? What's this?"

She accepted the gift and examined it. It looked like a light-red cherry with a long green tail of a stem. When she looks back at the Chikorita, she finds the other Pokemon bringing more berries of different colors and shapes, offering them to her and her friends. A Cyndaquil bringing a small, blue foot-ball shaped berry. An Oshawott bringing an oddly spiky orange berry. A Treeko carrying a rather large, watermelon-like berry, and so on.

"They're giving us some of their food," Gon understood at once. "I guess they figured we must be hungry."

Now that he brought it up, Emma did felt peckish. The food she had for breakfast was light - a simple eating of the cooked meat and rice given by the Kijin clan, and completely missed lunch. After their battle and survival against the Demon-Devil Serpent, it certainly has stir up an appetite, as strange as that is after such a terrifying experience.

A little flash of a small fire suddenly appeared at the center of the clearing. They finally looked to notice a small patch of several wooden sticks and leaves, surrounded by small round rocks, at the center of the field. A Charmander had just lit the stick and leaves with a fire it coughed out from its mouth. At another part of the field, a Chimchar was also lighting up a campfire, and at another place, a Torchic was doing just the same.

A warm glow filled the area and ridding the cold night air. They witnessed as one of the creatures, a Totodile, brings forth some more sticks, assisted by a Fennekin and a Popplio that each were carrying the unique berries, and watched as the Totodile sets down the sticks it collected, picks up one and a berry from the Fennekin's mouth, and jabs the berry into the pointy end of the stick, then setting it by the fire to cook.

Emma and Killua stared in mild awe. These Pokemons has quite a level of intelligence for them to know how to make a campfire and cook, it was an especially wonderful sight for Emma to see the harmonious community these creatures were living together in, reminding her of the peaceful times at Gracefield with her whole family.

Killua felt his hand being pulled and looks down. A joined effort of a Minun and a Plusle, one standing on top of the other, tugging Killua's hand in ushering to come along. The same was done to Emma by a Scorbunny, pointing at one of the campsites that the other Pokemons were starting to gather with their nature-granted appliance and several berries being piled.

A Froakie climbed over Gon's shoulder, ribbit-like noise in its throat. Gon rubbed the Froakie's blue cheeks, translating the purpose of their insisting actions, "They're inviting us to eat with them."

Emma allowed herself to be pulled along by the open-smiling Scorbunny, accompanied by a Buneary, and joined the other Pokemons that were beginning to sit around the campfire as Gon and Killua followed along with their own little critter friends to lead them. Garou held the Poochyena in his arm and watched as the children joined the seated Pokemons, and felt a pressure against his calves.

It was a blue and black dog-sort of creature, standing on two legs with black paw-arms pushing against his calves, trying to push him to move as if he were a heavy statue. "Oh? You want me along too?" Garou asked.

He had noticed this particular Riolu had been observing him and the children ever since they first arrived at this secret garden of theirs. A cautious personality, but seem to adjust to their presence soon enough. This was the first time the Riolu had approached Garou, as the rest of the Pokemons, apart from the biting Poochyena, found the children to be more approachable than himself. A keen interest in the Riolu's eyes for the silver-haired fighter, and he could tell at a glance that this little monster was a fighter as well.

The Riolu resumed its push against his unmoving form, its message clear. The Poochyena relented its biting of his unharmed ankle and started tugging his pants in a gesture of invite.

"Garou! Come sit over here!"

Emma waved at him with a spot saved for his attendance by one of the campfires. A moment of thought kept Garou as the Riolu awaited his response and the Poochyena persisting its tug.

A single shrug from his shoulders, he walked to the gathering. He was feeling hungry anyway.

All have gathered at each their own individual fire, berries being toasted and even smashed by a Geodude to make jams to spread upon the rich lettuce-like leaves. Killua was about to eat from his lunchbox when Gon patted him by the arm, his pointed look towards Emma and Garou.

With the lunchbox on her lap, and a pile of berries and fruits in front of his crossed legs, Emma and Garou had their eyes closed and their hands pressed together in a prayer, giving gratitude for the meal before they should dine in.

Gon and Killua waited out of politeness, though Killua confessed to himself that he never took Garou to be the sort of person that showed a sort of etiquette at the table - if there were any here.

"Thank you for the meal," Emma said in a closing prayer, Garou finished likewise, and they all began to eat.

The berries were delightful treats, each of different shapes vary in flavors. From sweet, bitter, spicy, etc. Emma enjoyed the taste of these exotic fruits as her little monster companions lay beside her in eating their favored berries.

"You know, I've been thinking," Emma said to Gon and Killua who sat beside her. "I'm not sure if I could change the star I got back into a scale, or with any of the stars I have. If I could, I might be able to break it into two more pieces for you and Killua. I also still have that tar-glue I can put on my arrows, so whatever monster we find next, I could use it to get enough pieces for all of us."

A look of contemplation from Gon that stared into the fire. "That's very kind, but... I can't accept that. I want to try earning a point for myself, and you've already helped us so much by guiding us all this time. But we'll definitely help you get your fifth star, just as Killua and I will get ours. You don't have to worry about us, we're Professional Hunters after all."

He brightly expressed, "This Preliminary really has a lot of strong monsters. There were times where I would have been in real trouble if Killua hadn't been with me. He really is a reliable guy."

Killua flinched as he chewed on a deliciously sweet berry, swallowing, he responded with a faint color of pink on his pale expression, "It... really isn't all that much."

Emma smiled adoringly, "You guys remind me a lot like my two best friends, Norman and Ray. We were brought into Gracefield around the same year as babies, and grew up together. We hang out almost all the time. I love my other foster siblings, but with Norman and Ray, I always felt that I could go to them for anything. It was the sort of bond and trust that made the three of us inseparable."

"That's exactly how it is with me and Killua!" Gon exclaimed happily, "He's one of the first friends I've made since I left Whale Island. There really isn't anyone else I trust more than Killua, he's not only a great partner, he's my best friend in the whole wide world!"

"Sh-shut up! You don't need to say that so loudly!" Killua shoved Gon by the shoulder, face now brimming light red.

"Why? It's the truth," Gon factually stated.

"Idiot..." Killua's cheeks puffed as he ate quietly to himself. Emma grinned in a chuckle.

_Hm. Ain't that cute?_ Garou thought to himself, eating another berry whole while rubbing underneath the chin of the Poochyena that lay on its belly in bliss content beside him,_ I'm still kicking their asses later. But I guess these are kids after all._

He had to affirm that with himself after seeing the sort of death looks both of these boys had bestowed towards him when they first fought with him. Like dangerous little beasts that could bare their claws, but haven't developed their vicious fangs yet. He really ought to watch out for those two. Never underestimate them, not this time.

They continued to eat in peace. Gon and Killua decided to make a game of guessing to see which berries were sweet or spicy. Emma joined in their game for a short time, a decent enough start with some evidence she could decipher by the appearance and smell of the fruits, but Gon took the winning lead due to his strong nose, with Killua doing his earnest to catch up, and Emma only making half-right half-wrong guesses, though she was beginning to detect a pattern in the flavors of all these different fruits, but it was evident that Gon had won.

Eventually, they had their fill with berries and emptied their lunchboxes of all rice and meat slices. Afterwards, they played with the little creatures frolicking around them. Gon and Killua with the Growlithe and Shinx, and while tending in playful care with their befriended little monsters and a few others around them, they entered a discussion mainly about what their plans were for tomorrow morning, and how they should approach for their needed fifth star.

Emma held the paws of the Eevee as they did a mock sort of patty cake that the little fox creature was capable of performing. Her lunchbox nearly empty, only half a biscuit remaining.

She looked at the other side of the campfire where Garou was seated to himself and two other company. His hand raised for the Riolu who jump kicking into his palms, amusing the dark hunter by the Riolu's efforts. The Poochyena lazily lay beside his thigh, the side of its body rising and lowering with its every breath as Garou pets it.

He noticed her glance at once and stared at her as the Riolu continued to kick and punch his unmoving palm. Emma gently pulled the Eevee towards herself and picked it up. She started her way closer to Garou and he turned his head for her. In her arms she carried the perky Eevee, and in her hand was the biscuit she took out from the now empty lunchbox.

"Hi. I still have this left, but I'm not hungry anymore. Do you want it?" She showed him the biscuit while adjusting her hold of the Eevee with one arm. She saw how he was only eating berries, so maybe having a bread-like treat would go well with it, and might better fill whatever amount of appetite he has. This was also her chance to get to know more about the human person with monstrous strength.

Garou blatantly eyed at the half-eaten biscuit while the Riolu grabbed hold of his arm and attempted to suplex him, with no success. He picked the biscuit up with his fingers, accepting it with a short hum before tossing it into his mouth and chews.

"I've been wondering," Emma said. She sat down and settled the Eevee beside her and brought up her knees to her chin. The brown fox creature snuggled up to her side as she hugged around the front of her ankles with her wrists, "How are you so strong? I've never seen anyone as strong as you are."

Swallowing the biscuit, he answers without qualms, "I train."

She waited an elaboration to his short answer, and when none came as he stared at her silently, she realized that that was it. "Really? Is that all?"

He nodded, his widely sharp eyes looking directly at her. The grunt of the trying Riolu still clutching his arm until Garou flipped the creature with a single quick roll of his arm, and catches the Riolu in a waist-lock with his arm, and held the creature against his side. The Riolu did its mightiest to escape his hold with effort-weighted breaths.

"Oh... wow," Emma sounded out her surprise, "You must have trained really hard then."

"Pretty much," Garou affirmed, and picked up two berries from the pile in front of him. Pink seedless strawberry-shaped fruit of two-green leaf stems and harmless light pink spot, he offers one to Emma, "Want one?"

"Oh. Thank you," she politely accepted his offer, examining the fruit in her hands and taking a bite from the bottom. Juicy sweet savoring flowed through her teeth and down to her throat as she ate and swallowed the berry, she lets out a little joy of its deliciousness before resuming her talk to Garou, "There's something else I would like to know. I hope it doesn't sound rude, but are you really human?"

"You keep asking me that," his back arched over as he leaned forward to her eye-level, a slight grin in his expression, "What? You see me as a scary monster?" He asked as if to feel complemented by that statement.

Emma observed the visual structure of his face and figure. She has never seen someone as muscular as he was, even the nameless man was not this buff, but she can reasonably understand that his physique were humanly achievable, and it's only a wonder what sort of training this person endured in. "I just never realized humans could be strong enough to fight something so big with just their fists. It's really amazing."

"Hmph. If I had more time, I would have punctured that snake through a dozen times over," it would have taken severe concentration, but he could have. He watches as Emma reaches into her vest pocket and pulls out her Monster Tracker.

"I also keep getting a reading from this tracker that's detecting you as a monster," she further explained in a gentle tone, "I don't know if it's a glitch or anything else, so I want to ask just to make sure."

It wouldn't be well if she were to accidentally hunt him should they ever separate themselves from one another. Emma showed the screen of the device in her hands. Garou craned himself back, tilting his head towards her to examine the screen.

"You see?" She points at the screen, "All these dots in the map are all the little monsters here in this area. The center is where I am, and right there, it's showing me that there's a monster presence I'm sitting right next to."

Interested, he pointed at the device, "Can I see that?"

A nod, she gave him the Monster Tracker. Overhearing a gagged shock from Killua and looked over to see Gon patting the back of the other boy. The young assassin had just gazed at her direction in time to see her handing Garou the Monster Tracker and nearly choked on the very sweet berry he was eating. His reaction to her trust in the dark clothed fighter.

It was more than an act of trust, however. She firmly believed that Garou would not take the device from her after the many chances which he could have easily done so long before. It was an observation that she had since been made aware of. The stars they have on them, and this tracker that leads them searching for the next monster they could obtain their next star from, he made no effort to take either possessions from her or her friends. Something about it made her think of him being, in a way... Fair.

"So that dot's supposed to me?" Garou gained back her attention as she turned her head to see him looking closely at the screen, the device held in his scuffed hands. The bloody and beaten knuckles he received from the fight against the Demon-Devil Serpent having been healed after his consumption of the piles of fruits. Though not much, it was substantial, but he will need to hunt a bigger meal for himself in the morning.

"Guess that voice was right... Well shoot," he muttered in discontent. "If I can get tracked like this, it might have been better if I picked I was just human instead."

"Huh?" Emma was unsure for a moment, but then a plausible theory came to her mind at his vague comment, "Do you mean the information about ourselves before the Preliminary started?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I signed up as a human and monster."

This could get annoying though, he realizes, if he can be noticed half a mile away. He can't sense others presence that far, or if they weren't observing him in a way that made himself aware he was being watched. The element of surprise would have been thrown out the window, even more that he would be expected and someone would get the jump on him.

Emma would sympathize with that thought. The unsettling feelings of always being known where one is. How ironic this turnabout was, that she had been the one tracked, and now she holds the device that tracks others. This must be what it was like for Mama to always keep tabs on the whereabouts of the other children.

"Why did you choose monster?" Emma asked with curious eyes that glimmered from the flickering flames six feet before them.

"Cause monsters are cool," was Garou's simple answer.

"Oh... Okay," she accepted the answer with equal simplicity. She had siblings who thought the same way, Emma herself had even taken the role as monster that would chase the other children in playful activity. It left a warped impression on her, however, as soon as she saw _real_ monsters, and since then could hardly differentiate between what was a game, and what wasn't without leaving a horrid feeling in her heart.

"You don't think so?" He asked her as he handed her back the Monster Tracker.

Emma retrieves the device and places it back inside her vest pocket before hesitantly answering. "I... Well, I guess they are something to think about. I don't really know..."

Her thoughts traveled back to the Demons in her world. She never had to think about it that way before. When it came to the Demons, they were scary and a danger first before they were something to be curious about. It was difficult to consider them any other way, her own heart aching still for those who have been killed by them. Yet, if she were to consider the demons like Musica and Sonju, she might actually agree that there was something interesting about them, that they were people much like her.

Though, before she ever crossed with the existence of Demons, Emma did had a much lighter view of monsters in general, once upon a time. "I did play as a monster once back when I was at the orphanage with the other orphans."

A hint of a smile appeared on Garou, "Really now?"

"Mhm," she confirmed as a happy memory came to her mind, "I'm one of the oldest in my family. We would get together and play games. I really liked playing as the monster chasing after everyone. It was a lot of fun."

She recalled with a wide smile of reminiscence and lets out a little laugh, "I would go after them and play tags in the field or hide and seek inside the house. The best part though would be when they work together and pile over me. Hehe."

"How many other orphans you lived with?" It was a first show of curious pleasantry Garou revealed that kindly paid close attention to her story, nullifying the sharp roughness of his expression by a little. He looked much nicer this way.

"Thirty-six," she answered and did not miss the white brows of Garou that rose in surprise. "From infants to twelve years old. I'm the thir... second oldest in our family, aside from Mama - our caretaker, of course."

"That's a pretty big family," Garou commended. He then frowned, crinkling the skin between his brows. "Getting piled up by that many. Kind of unfair, don't you think? You being the monster for all those kids to beat up."

"I don't get beat up exactly. It's fine though," Emma assured, "We're all just playing, and we made sure to always be careful. We never go too far or do anything that would get anyone hurt."

"Hm. Looks like your siblings knew how to treat each other," he said in a low tone, his eyes lowered as he stared blankly at the dancing flame of the campfire. "Much better than a lot of other brats I've seen."

"What do you mean?"

He looked at her, a sudden flicker of intensity in his eyes that calmed as he answered, "Kids at my old school likes to think that they can get away for playing rough, even if it breaks someone's arm."

It was a typical, far too occurring incident that even sends a child beyond the nurse's office and to a hospital, and the unreliable adults there excused it as a simple 'kids being kids and got a little carried away' type of ordeal. Those people failed to be the responsible teachers and parents they were supposed to be, and leaving the victims in the dust while the blame is blown towards them, as if _getting_ hurt was their own fault.

"That's not right," Emma stated with a small frown. "If anyone in my family ever did that, we would always feel bad and apologize. Mama would scold us and tell us to be careful next time, and if it happens again, we would get a time out or do extra chores around the house."

Garou found it strange how she referred to her caretaker as "Mama" as if the woman practically adopted all of them already, even though supposedly they're all orphans at an orphanage just waiting to get adopted. He didn't pay too much mind to that though, huffing a breath through his nose, "Sounds like she actually knew how to raise you kids."

He saw a flash of sadness from her, the upbeat tenor in her verdant eyes were suddenly lost and lowered. She hugged her knees closely. "...Yeah, she does."

The Riolu eventually gave up on its struggle to escape his hold and calmed in his unrelenting arm to regain its stamina, though with heavy eyes, it appeared to have exert all of its energy and was close to fall asleep any second. Garou, however, paid more attention to the sullen-eyed girl, lowering his head to look and wonder about her solemn expression.

"So it wasn't a good place then?" She then asked, hiding that immediate sorrow as if it never came. "The orphanage I lived in was also a school for me and the other orphans, so I don't really know a lot about what other schools are like."

"Might have been better that way for you," Garou said, "Whole system is broken anyway. Nothing that would have actually prepared anyone how to live their life."

"Was there anything good about it?"

"Not really," not something that he personally experienced anyhow. "I got out of that snake's pit when I finally had enough of it. Didn't see why I needed to keep wasting my time with that place." But rather, it was the catalyst to his self-imposed treacherous journey, one out of many other wretched situations throughout the world.

"Was it a public school?" Emma asked, "Or was it a place you lived in?"

"As if," an unhesitating response with a distinct bitterness in his eyes. "I would have lost my whole mind if I lived in a place like that for long." And worsen his already unhinged mental state if he continued to be in that cesspool.

"Where did you live then? Did you had a home?" At his raised brow for her pestering questions, she added, "I'm sorry if I'm asking a lot. I don't know anything about the world outside where I'm from. I only ever read others places around the world in whatever books we had in our library, and I'm really curious. It's exciting to know or hear stories about what other worlds beside my own are like."

Though once upon a time, she held no interest in the world outside what was her home and life. That she wanted to stay in that household of happiness forever. Then, she realized that home was a place her family could not stay, and so they must reach the world lived among by other humans.

Garou gave Emma a brief observant once over. So she was unknowing and inexperience to the world outside her home. At least up to the point where she earned all that scars and use of weaponry. Which, he has to know, what kid uses an automatic weapon? At least she knew how to handle that sort of gun, but what led her to learn how to wield that?

He takes another pause before giving in to her question - he'll be generous just this once, "I don't have a place. Used to but I left it when I was a runt. Wandered the streets in a couple of cities for a while. Fought a lot and heard about a dojo and the Grand Master. Went there to challenge him."

His voice went soft, his eyes a hidden gentleness to it, "He ended up taking me in instead."

Emma caught onto his quite expression, though it came as quick as it went, she then asked, "A dojo?"

He nodded, tossing another sweet berry in his mouth. "A place where people train and learn how to fight. It's where I learned martial arts."

"Oh. So it's like a school then?"

"Guess so." It was more of a second home, but Garou knew better than to see it that way. It was another obstacle for him to overcome, and it wasn't a place he knew he was meant to stay for long.

"What was it like? At the dojo?" Emma asked, listening very closely and with great interest. The mention of new things she hasn't heard before dancing in her eyes.

Garou looked at her for another moment, then gazes up to the fake stars etched into the mountain ceiling. "An old place. Doesn't look like it though. The old man managed to take care of it, so that it wouldn't just fall apart no matter how many people were living there. It's at the top of a mountain, with over hundred thousands of steps leading up to it. Pretty much spent most of my years living in that dojo. All the students there were weak fighters though, they couldn't touch me even when I wasn't trying."

It was almost a joke how weak they were. Some of them spent their time in that dojo longer than he had, they were his upperclassman, and yet they were so ridiculously weak he had to wonder if they had been jacking off all those years of supposed training before he turned up one day. They didn't deserve those black belts once he was done with them.

He wondered then if those so called students of Bang, those students who boasted great strength yet lack the actual aptitude to back that claim up, were still frequenting that school. Well, it didn't matter to him, no matter how much stronger they get, he would defeat them again and again.

"At the top of the mountain..." Emma repeated his description. "If it was that high up, the view must have been amazing."

The scene of the city at the distant and forest that were planted and meshed with the rocky environment of where the dojo stood. The sight it brought from the setting sun and upcoming morning glow that was like looking at the orange-yellow coated field, as if flowers made out of gold.

"It was alright," Garou downplayed the beauty his memory was able to uphold. He wasn't a sentimental guy, there was only the present and moving towards the future he has his eyes on.

Emma etches herself closer to his side, her eagerness apparent in her round eyes, "You said you walked through cities. They're places with the tall buildings right? I only ever see those in pictures. My family and I lived in a field with our big house at the center of it, and we would always wondered what it was like to live in a city. There must be a lot of people living there."

Also crime, full of snobby riches and the occasional homeless living on the streets, and that's avoiding the underground businesses that happens in nearly every city he visits. Essentially a place too big and too full of people will often feel the most cramped, that it would seem suffocating, so people decide it was better not to breathe, nor care for others who needed to.

But it was obvious in her expectant eyes that she was hoping for something much brighter than that, a girl who is looking for a world she is aiming for one day.

"There's a lot of people. It isn't anything stellar," Or at least, not one he takes into account. He doesn't normally stop for the sight-seeings. Garou then bluntly asked her, his head tilting in questioning as if she were strange, "Have you really never seen much of your world? Not even on TV?"

"TV... Do you mean a television? We don't have those at the orphanage," Emma's answer greatly surprised Garou. "All we had were the books in our library, which is the only thing that made us know a little bit about the world where other people live."

He blinked widely at her. No television? Not even cartoons? That's... almost kind of unthinkable. He himself grew up watching kid shows, and bare through each episode of Justice Man _unjustly_ defeating every villain monster the hero confronts. Well, he supposes it wasn't _that_ unusual for families to be without TVs, just means she and her foster siblings get to do more outdoor activity. A positive.

But then that also means she and her family _really _don't know much about the world outside their own homes, except for whatever books was available for them to read, and what he can only assume, their foster mother as well. Unless even that person was oblivious in experience to the rest of the world.

It kind of seems a bit under-prepared for kids who are waiting to be adopted. They should at least be aware of some things that were happening outside their home. Too much time being sheltered and those kids wouldn't know how to deal with real world situations.

"And... It's a little complicated. It would take me a while to explain," Emma said, "But basically, we really had no idea what the world outside our home was like. But I'm hoping that in a city lived by other people, it's a place where my family and I can be safe. That's what I'm trying to reach in my world."

He looked at the side of her head, covered by her clipped strand of her orange hair that hides a closed wound, the numbers on her neck and the bullet scar on her cheek. His mouth opened to say something, but a steady rustle of footsteps stops him and he raised his head, looking pass Emma.

Gon had approached them, his eyes held no hostility, but a small frown was there as he looked at the dark hunter. A gazed assessment from Garou as he regarded the boy impassively, his shoulders broadened.

"Gon?" Emma asked the boy.

Gon smiled at her in reassurance before it dropped and he glared back at Garou, "I just want to say that... you really helped us today. You've done a lot, and even kept Emma safe when we were separated. I've met a lot of people who were strong, and you're definitely strong. You've been keeping your promise, so I just want to let you know that I'll be keeping mine."

Clenching his fists, he finalizes, "Good luck after the Preliminary. I'll be on the look out for you too. Next time we fight, I'm going to give everything I have, so I want you to do the same too. Okay?"

"For a little guy, you're pretty gutsy," Garou said, a surprising mixed tone that mocked and commended the boy. Taking the last berry he has with him and setting down the tired out Riolu, he stood up, awakening the Poochyena beside him, and scowled at the boy, "Let's just get this clear. I haven't been helping you kids, we just happen to shoot the same target."

He pointed at Gon, "I'll be holding onto what you just said though. I don't go easy on anyone, so you better watch out. I won't be holding back next round."

Emma looked on the two opposing competitors in tentative concern. Gon nodded affirmatively with an unafraid gaze, "Until then!"

His intense glower remained, Garou then moved towards another part of the area near the entrance, "Better turn in now. If you're exhausted tomorrow, I'm not slowing down for any of you to catch up."

Emma and Gon watched as Garou walked away, the Poochyena tailing not too far behind his heels and the reawakened Riolu following after them as well. The Growlithe stepped up beside Gon's feet, glancing up at the determined-looking boy curiously. The Eevee, who had been napping against her side, nuzzled itself closer for better comfort. She carefully picked up the Eevee and stood.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you guy," Gon apologized, his face coming to a calm.

Hiding her unease at the disclosing between her friend in green attire and the dark hunter, Emma tenderly held the Eevee against her shoulder, slowly shaking her head in kind assurance, "It's alright, but... Are you really going to fight him the next time you guys see each other?"

"Huh? Well yeah. It's what we said we'd do."

"But there's really no more reason for it, right? We've been helping each other for a while now," she turns back to Garou, seeing the young man sit down by the entrance as the Poochyena caught up to him and pawed at him. With just a simple soft push of his finger, the Poochyena tipped over to its side but bounced right back up with a feisty bark as the Riolu jumped to his shoulder.

"Mm. Maybe, but the thing is, I want to fight him."

She faced Gon with a befuddled look. "You... want to? Why?"

"Well... He's strong. Really strong," Gon picked up and looked at his clenched fist, "The truth is, just thinking about it makes me nervous, but also excited. I want to see my strength with someone else, and get even stronger that way. I know that I still have a lot to learn, I've only been a Hunter for about a year or so, so I can't help but wanting to find out just how much stronger I can really get, even against someone who has way more experience than me."

Emma looked down to her feet in pondering. "Hm... I don't really get it," she told him flatly. "I understand that you want to get stronger, but..."

"It's not like me and Gon have been getting along with that guy," Killua spoke up behind Gon, walking up to them with his hands in his pocket as the Shinx follows him. "More like we're just passive with each other. Just cause he isn't attacking us now doesn't mean he likes us. Oh and by the way..."

Emma blinked at his close proximity, and then flinched with an "ouch!" at his brisk chop to her forehead, a red sore line instantly appeared. "Do you think you can be a little more careful with the things you lend to others? First the Support Card and now that tracker..."

"But... he didn't take either..." Emma whined with scowling pain in her eyes.

"You still _need_ to be careful," Killua emphasized. "You shouldn't have so much faith in other people like that, even if you think you can read them."

Gon gently pound his shoulder with his fist and a disapproving frown, "You didn't have to hit her."

"I'm just making sure she knows how to look out for herself, you weren't any better anyway," Killua shot back. The young Hunter pouted in offense before Killua resumed, "Once this Preliminary is over, we'll be on our separate ways with that guy, so it makes sense why wouldn't want to get close with each other. That's just how it is."

Rubbing her red-marked forehead, Emma's cheeks puffed angrily at the young assassin who wordily offered her advice, "I get that you were raised in that orphanage most of your life. Your foster mom was probably the first real threat you had to face other than the demons, right? You even mentioned that the next human you met was someone who wanted you dead at first. Even if he was a good guy deep down, he was still dangerous."

He concluded firmly, "I'm just saying that it would be a safe bet if you were more cautious around other people. Not everyone is as nice as they might seem at first. We've met people whose killed others, and wouldn't have hesitated to kill us if we let even a small bit of our guard down."

She took in his words with comprehensive consideration, though she still stared defiantly for his chop-inflicted attack that felt as if to rattle her skull.

"But not everyone is someone she has to be careful around," Gon argued with his friend, "After all, we met people like Kurapika and Leorio, the greatest friends we've ever known, and they weren't the only ones either."

"That doesn't change the fact that we had just as much of a chance meeting someone dangerous as we did meeting someone like Leorio and Kurapika. More than half a chance in fact. Want to tell her about Hisoka?"

Gon grimaced slightly, yet stubbornly he insisted, "Well... he was dangerous, but he wasn't all that bad either..."

"Are you kidding?! That guy's a total creep! I wouldn't trust being in the same room with him!"

"I mean, sure he's weird but he helped us a few times."

"Only because he had his own reasons and has a weird fixation with you. He's a lunatic!"

Emma looked on unsure between the arguing boys, speaking up before they could go on, "Um. Who's Hisoka?"

Killua expressively and actively shivered, "Someone you really don't want to meet... But anyway, you get what I'm trying to say right?"

Emma's eyes lowered for the ground, "... I know. I understand that there could be bad people out there," she smiled fondly, "You really do remind me a lot like Ray. He's always cautious of everything, and a little cynical but he's just being realistic."

"I'm guessing he was the sensible one then?" Another bump to Killua's shoulder from Gon's fist.

Overlooking the worded jab, Emma then said, "Thank you for watching out for me, but I can't always just be distrustful of everyone I meet, otherwise I wouldn't have known and liked you guys."

A muffled noise withheld behind his lips that thinned to keep it from escaping. "She has a point," Gon laughed at Killua's controlled expression, but he could tell that Killua felt a little bashful.

"Also, if I had kept my view point narrowed, I wouldn't have been able to escape the orphanage the way I did," her eyes softened, "We even had to put our trust in someone we never met personally. His name was James Ratri, but we knew him as William Minerva. He was an author of these adventure books that were actually written with codes and hints about the Demon World. He'd been trying to help cattle children escape the farms and find a path to the Human World. We had to believe that he was an ally, and I never doubted him once. It's not always certain, but sometimes, it takes a little leap of faith for any of us to make the first move."

"Maybe," Killua seemingly agreed, "but if you end up jumping a canyon that's too far to reach, then all that's waiting is one big fall down below."

Emma proudly huffed in a defiant exclaim, "Then we get some ropes, tie them to rocks, and throw it to the other side! And zip-line our way over there!"

An abrupt, startled snicker Gon "pfft!"ed, trying to hide it by the side of his pressed backhand. Killua deadpanned at her immediate counter, "You got to have good arm strength to achieve that."

"Then we make cannons! Or even rockets!" She enthusiastically declared.

"At least be a little more realistic!" Killua angrily demanded.

"It's more realistic than just jumping a canyon without preparations! Why would I even do that?! I know I'd die if I did something like that!" Emma childishly chided.

"Well at least that sounded reasonable, but rockets?! Are you being serious?"

"Shut up! It's a good idea! And there's still the cannon option! Realistic or not, they can both happen! It's possible, you dummy!"

Killua's eye irritably twitched, "You-!"

Gon could no longer contain his elated laugh as the two other children argued and bickered. From the other end of the area, Garou looked over his shoulder from his laying form at the sound of Gon's laughter, the Riolu resting against his back while his hand continued to play with the spunky Poochyena trying to gnaw it.

"Don't laugh! I'm being serious!" Killua reprimanded the laughing Gon, "Back me up here! You better not be agreeing with her!"

With his palm, Gon wiped a tear from his smiling eyes and settled down from his laughter, mirth eyes looking at Killua, "Why not? I mean, in a way, it_ is _possible. If we have a rocket or cannon somehow."

"A small rocket, to be exact. A big one wouldn't work at all, we would just fly too high with it," Emma clarified as if that would better simplify her mindset.

_You wouldn't even have your arms after that_... Killua thought to himself. The Eevee in the thought proclaimed arms of Emma began to squirm at the bickering between Emma and Killua.

Emma immediately calmed and looked down at the Eevee, "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you."

The Eevee rubbed its closed eyes with its cute little paws as it purred to Emma's gentle consideration. She adjusted her hold of the Eevee and looked back at the boys, "We should get some sleep. We'll need plenty of rest if we're going to hunt for our fifth star tomorrow."

Gon agreed, and pointed at the end of the area by the tall stone wall that defended mostly the back of this field, meshed with the massive trees that surrounds this garden of Pokemon. In front of the stone walls were lumps of hay-like wheat that cluttered together in a big pile, one out of many others that were being pushed and organized by the little monster creatures. "Our new friends here made a bedding for us over there."

He knelt down and affectionately petted the happy Growlithe in gratitude. "We'll work our hardest tomorrow and get our stars. No matter what monster we find-"

"As long as we work together, we can do it," Emma finishes for him with an inspired look. "I know there's no reason to worry. I trust your strength and Killua's, and you can count on me too!"

Easing down, Killua sighed out, "Alright. We'll need to get up real early this time around, and get ready to move as soon as we wake up."

"Osu!" Emma and Gon cheered.

They walked to the makeshift bedding and settling upon it, joining and joined by the Pokemons, snuggling against the soft hay and to their own persons. Garou has taken his distant settlement, sitting against the wall with his fingertip scratching behind the ear of the Poochyena, while the Riolu slept beside him, and other wolf-like or lone-type creatures laying around him. He didn't seem to mind.

"Goodnight Gon. Goodnight Killua," Emma bid them quietly as the Eevee comfort against her cheek, its rubbing soft fur stirring up a giggle out of her.

"Goodnight, Emma," Gon said back, hugging the Growlithe as he lay on his side, "Let's do our very best tomorrow."

"Night," Killua said simply, the Shinx settling and curled up on his stomach and he simply let it be, arms behind his head. All of the snuggling creatures have found their spot in their designated sleep space among the hay and throughout the area.

She then closes her eyes as well, thought lovingly of her family and praying for the endurance needed for tomorrow.

Soon, they all fell into a slumber.

/.\

Day 7. Final Day.

A diminishing darkness throughout the whole environment, matching the status of time outside this valley of monsters, but the Sun Stones have yet to fully lit, and so Beast Valley remained somewhat shadowed until the beam of the sunrise could touch the exterior of the mountain.

Emma softly and peacefully snores, sleeping against the lumps of hay on her side. Her arm resting over the form of a loudly snoring Scorbunny, while the Eevee slept against the top of her head, its quiet breaths like gentle feathers to her hair.

A rough wetness licked against her backhand. Emma's closed eyes twitched until they slowly opened. Blinking her blurry view as she came to an awake, her first sight was the face of the Poochyena, staring at her dawning confusion. A huffing noise within its throat that made a slight growl.

"Huh?" Emma muttered out, she slowly sat up so not to disturb the still slumbering Pokémon all around her and her friends as well. There was a noticeable disturbance in the Poochyena's eyes. "What's wrong?"

The Poochyena carefully stepped down from the bedding of hay and onto the grass. It looked back expectantly, silently requesting her to follow. Once Emma understood its message, she as quietly as she could stepped down from the bed of hay.

The Poochyena then began to walk across the area, looking back at Emma constantly. _There's something he wants to show me_, Emma deciphered the intentions of the monster wolf-pup, his face was directed towards the entrance-exit of this garden, _From outside?_

She collects her backpack and rifle that were set next to the bed of hay, and continued her follow of the Poochyena.

Killua opened his eyes and looked over to see Emma with the leading Poochyena. He sat up then and watched as they head further across the area, closer to the entrance in fact. "Hey, Gon."

Killua shook Gon with a hand to the other's shoulder. The boy awoke at once and shifted his lying position to face the young Assassin, "What is it?"

"Don't know," Killua cautiously moved the sleeping Shinx from his stomach, his eyes remaining on Emma's leaving back as Gon followed his gaze, "Come on. Something's up."

Emma continued to follow after the Poochyena, passing by the other sleeping creatures which she looked at one by one, every one of them sleeping against the wall or idly among the field. Immediately, she realized what was amiss.

"Did Garou leave?" Emma asked quietly, though she understood the Poochynea could not speak human language to answer her question properly. However, a minuscule bark from the Poochyena that responded to her question, a clear understanding if not with her words, but meaning. She continued to follow the Poochyena, inattentive of Gon and Killua observing her from behind with quiet presence as they followed.

The Poochyena led her through the entrance of the area. They climbed over the lumpy thick roots underneath the half-oval shaped opening of the tree, and went further until they reached the other end.

A low beast-like growl reached her ears. She halted at once, reaching for her pistol she had holstered in her pants pocket. The rest of her weapons and backpack were left inside the area, unrealized that this Poochyena intended to take her outside its home garden and did not think to bring it, however, her attention was drawn more to the noise.

She realized that it sounded humanly, and the Poochyena had yet to stop its trek to wherever it was leading her towards. She considered herself shortly, and decided to continue her following of the gray Pokémon. Behind her, Gon and Killua had climbed out from the entrance, and even from where they were, they too started to hear this estranged noise.

Emma walked with the Poochyena until it led her to the bushes, where she could make out the outline of a hunched over figure, the sound now more distinct.

"Guh-! What the hell is happening?!" A deep and familiar voice uttered through clenching teeth. Walking around the bushes, Emma found the source.

It was Garou. He was curled up on his knees and both arms clutching his stomach. She saw the side of his face, dripping in his own sweat like he had been thrown at by a bucket-full of water, and she could see it drench through his dark clothing. His entire body was trembling, muscles protruding as if threatening to tear through his black shirt.

He painfully grumbled, "Either I ate too many spicy berries or this is something else-!"

"Garou?"

He spun his head around, eyes widened and ferocious that it completely startled Emma, who had called his name in concern, to jump back. His face was utterly dowsed in his sweat and strained as if a pressuring pain was squeezing his inside. His alerted eyes seemed to settle a little at the sight of Emma, and she was able to press on in asking, "What is it? Are you hurt?"

Not wanting to allow himself to be seen in this inexplicable agonized state, Garou forced himself to rise from his crouch, putting down one arm but his other refusing to relent its baring pressure against his stomach, locked down to withhold the intense pain as if that man with the deadly touched managed to push the pressure point of his stomach.

"I'm fine," he growled out lowly, biting down all urges to grunt out the pain.

Emma was not so fooled.

"You're not," she stated this matter of fact. He could not hide his visual distress even as he attempted to hold up a calm expression, which twitches to break down every so often. "You don't look fine at all. What is it? Is there something I can do?"

_Oh this_ _really ain't good_, Garou thought to himself, gulping down his saliva as a liquid to temper down the pain inside him. Never mind the fact that he honestly felt to be dying, but that this little girl was looking at him with _genuine concern_.

He shouldn't be shed with pity from his onlookers, but marveling fear, otherwise, it was a testament of his weakness. It's why he left quietly when this pain started to worsen after it abruptly stirred him from his sleep and he had to step out, he cannot nor will not let others see him in such a way.

But _damn _does this hurt. Like his stomach was filled with molten lava, travelling through out his entire nervous system with white hotness, a numbing sunburn spurning inside his muscles.

"Emma?" Gon called to her as he and Killua hurried. Emma turns and sees the approaching boys, but before she could say anything-

"You," Garou accuses, the point of his finger and his glare at the boy in green. Gon stopped immediately, pointing to himself to assure he was the one referenced.

"What's with you?" Killua bluntly asked the state of Garou's being, as if he was holding in a big one or about to vomited it out. "Food poisoning or something?"

"Did you do something to me?" Garou demanded.

Gon was only confused, "Did I? What do you mean?"

The older teen aggravated, "You did something else with that punch, didn't you? What was it? Because this sure hasn't been pleasant since you hit me." He pointed his clutched stomach.

It would only take a moment for Gon or Killua to understand, but before they would even think of it, a terrible crunch of a tree branch sound behind Garou, and the boys faced downed into a widened eye startle. Emma looked back at Garou who froze at the sudden sound, and at her visual gawking, the dark hunter takes a glance behind.

A massive bird-like beast, its head rising from the trees it stood upon, feathers as black as midnight, and a white bone mask with red-markings, and yellow glowing eyes that stared down at the humans below.

For the creature of darkness that it was, it had sensed the negative emotion of suffering from the wolfish competitor Garou, and came as an attracted creature would to the sweet scent of honey.

A Grimm Type monster. A Nevermore.

A harrowing screech bellowed from the open beak of the Nevermore and they braced under it, the Poochyena yipped in terror. Its wings expanded, several meters wider than itself, pure and pitch darkness that stretched out as if it had been consumed by the shadows of the night, and flapped once.

Multiple sharp and large-sized black feathers like swords were thrown for them. Emma immediately grabbed the Poochyena, then before she could run, Garou grabbed her around the waist and dashed for the entrance of the hidden garden. Gon and Killua ran each separate direction as they avoided the feathers that shot near their feet and pierced the ground.

Garou moved in quick side-stepped as the black feathers pierced all around them until reaching the entrance and barely made it through while giant feathers cuts into the edge of the openings and into the roots and wood. He barreled through and stopped upon the grassy base where all the Pokémon were instantly awaken at the sound and instinct of a disturbance from outside.

_The tracker_, Emma's arm clutches securely around the frightened Poochyena as her mind comprehended, _Why didn't the tracker warned-?_

"Meowwww~"

She looked ahead and to the bed of hay. A Meowth was rolling across the wheat in gentle and lazy wakening, in its paw it played with the red and black device - her Monster Tracker, as it had taken an interest to its shiny exterior and having taken from Emma when she fell asleep.

"That little-!" Garou saw as well and his teeth gritted in angered disbelief. The Meowth looked up and suddenly scream with its fur standing up and scrambled away, dropping the Monster Tracker. A large shadow fell over a partial of the field and the little creatures instantly were on alert.

The head of the Nevermore loomed over the top of the massive trees, yellow glowing eyes through its white bone mask. All the little monsters panicked as it leaned further in. A yo-yo struck the side of its neck and harmed it enough for it to pull away.

Garou loosened his hold of Emma as she armed herself with her rifle, but her focus averted to the frightened creatures that were dashing all around the field.

"Keep these little guys somewhere safe."

She watched as Garou dashed for and up the wall of the massive trees, bottling up and keeping down the immense pain in his stomach. He reaches the Nevermore's head in a few seconds and struck the shadowed chin with his fist. The Nevermore's head reared with a caw and toppled back down, but an instant flap of its wings had it retrieve leverage and backed away. Garou leapt for the Grimm beast as it had already taken flight, and landed back down after kicking its bird feet and another loud caw escaped the Nevermore.

"Emma!"

Gon enters through the entrance. Emma shouted back as she hugged the shaking Poochyena in her arms, "Gon! We have to help everyone here! If that monster gets in, they'll get hurt!"

An agreement in Gon's eyes as he examined all the startled Pokémon that were running around in a fright, some were trying to put the scared creature at ease, as he saw the Growlithe trying to appease a Whismur that could barely stop its quaking and move from its spot as if frozen in place, "There's a couple of hiding spots I saw around here! Come on!"

With a nod, she hurries to put the Pokémons at ease, retrieving her tracker in the meanwhile, and look for a place all these little ones may safely retreat to.

Outside the area, the Nevermore threw forward its wings in mid-flight, hurtling another dozen large feathers that stabbed into the earth. Garou avoided the sharp feathers with ease and instant reaction, backing away as the feathers pierced the ground and trailed after him.

_There's no way of fighting it if it keeps to the sky_, Killua assessed as he hid within the tree, following the view of the soaring giant bird of darkness, _Could we lure it in and clip its wings somehow? It has to be far from the garden though. But how can we bring it down?_

As Killua tries to conjure numerous ideas in his head, Garou kicked one of the planted feathers and broke it from the ground. With a hefty breath, he locked sight of the Nevermore and kicked the feather by the hard shaft. It shot for the Nevermore in returned fire, and in stellar aiming, struck the side of the Nevermore and piercing its body.

"He - He hit it!" Killua said in amazed. To see the precision of the distant target being struck by a simple hard kick of that person's strength, it left him utterly astounded how this person did not have any Nen-like ability. He watches as Garou breaks another feather and kicked it for the flying Nevermore, the next and the next, all in consecutive rounds without so much of a pause so long as there remained these large feathers stuck to the ground.

The Nevermore was stabbed repeatedly by its own feathers and howled another screeching noise as it flailed downwards towards them, like a hailing missile.

"Heading over here? Fine by me," Garou breaks off another ground-embedded feather but this time catches it and holds it. Waiting and timing himself as the Nevermore grew closer and closer. As soon as the Nevermore grew close enough, he tossed the feather up and spun himself, like a whirlwind building up the strength in his body, and when the feather came back down, he threw a powerful kick against the tip of the feather shaft, and launched it directly for the coming Nevermore.

The feather struck and stabbed right into the shoulder of the Grimm, shattering the corner of its bone mask along the way and it cried out.

"How'd you like that-! Oh crap."

Garou sprinted aside as the Nevermore plummets towards him and crashed into the bushes of the massive trees. It violently flailed its wings, sputtering its feathers everywhere that pushed Garou and Killua away to avoid its stab. The head of the Nevermore pops through and into the hidden home of the Pokémon, forcing itself through.

Rapid fire of bullets assaulted one of its glowing eye and the Nevermore shrieked, shutting its eye closed as attempting to retreat, but found itself stuck between the thick branches and leaves that sputtered fell in sporadic dancing in the air at its fierce struggle.

Emma and Gon stood side by side at the center of the field, armed with their weapons - her rifle and his rod. They had successfully helped calm and guide every little monster to cover behind rocks and even narrow openings led by a Diglett into the yellow-stone wall, the water-attributed creatures took shelter within the lake that were at the corner of the field, and some were hiding inside the trees away from where the Nevermore was. However, several little Pokémons were huddled together against the stone wall in quaking fear of the disruption the Nevermore was bestowing at their entrance. These were the Pokemons Emma and Gon must protect, whatever it takes!

"Keep firing!" Gon said to Emma, "I'm going to get close and knock it back out!"

"Be careful!" Emma told him. Gon rushes for the side and reached the massive trees, running up to and jumping from each lump until he reached the top. Emma expertly kept her bullets away from Gon until he became close enough that she ceased firing.

Gon tossed up his hook and caught the edge of the bone mask, then pulled himself up with great strength and a single effort while reeling the handle quickly. He flung himself to the face of the Nevermore and threw a single strong kick. His foot hit the center of the mask and the Nevermore's head was pushed in, but not back out, he followed up with another kick, and pushed the Nevermore's head even further back.

From the other side, Killua had sprinted up to the massive trees, avoiding the random shots of the sharp feathers and running by the flailing stuck Nevermore, and leaping upwards to the top.

_I don't know how effective this will be. I haven't practice it yet, but it's worth a shot!_

He reared his hand back, power developed into the tip of his fingers traveling from his palm in electrical currents, seeing the exposed neck of the Nevermore, sparks of energy dazzled at his hand.

**"Thunderbolt!"**

A stream of lightning sharply spiraled from his finger he threw down for the neck of the Nevermore. A piercing attack rattled the body of the Nevermore into another ear-beating screech as a burn mark smoked from the pitch darkness of its neck. Covered in static that wrapped around its feathers, but never going beyond it.

The Nevermore yanked itself out of the trees and screamed its inhumanly bird noise through its massive beak.

"Damn! Not enough power!" It was a work in progress with this particular move. If he kept at it, it would stun an opponent if not instantly burn them to a crisp. As it is now though, it's only a slightly stronger attack than his Lightning Palm.

The Nevermore swung its wing. There was nowhere else to go in the middle of the air, so Killua braced himself. The expanded wings slammed against him, his arms and knees picked up to better endure the attack, and he was punched away. He slammed against the ground several times, rolling across with a pained grunt as his body suffered the immense strength of that Nevermore that was able to be felt through his Ken, dirtied and scuffed with some injuries but nothing major.

Several feathers fired into the side of the Nevermore and emitted another holler. Garou held in his arm a few large black feathers he has been collecting around himself, and kicks all of them in a single shot-gun like attack that cuts the body of the Nevermore.

In an anger, the Nevermore flapped its wings once, and sent back several more feathers that struck and deflected Garou's thrown feathers, two feathers able to zip through and he jumped away in time to avoid them.

"You want to keep this up? I can do this all day-!"

Another agonizing pain lurched his stomach and he staggered, a pained utterance sipped through his tightened jaw, dropping the feathers he had carried and clutched his stomach with one knee bended.

The Nevermore recognize the scent of suffering and removed itself from the massive trees. A quick dive below, Garou was unable to move from the anchoring pain it locked inside him, the Nevermore expanded its wing and slammed Garou against the massive trees. Emma and Gon hurried out through the entrance of the garden and looked up to see the Nevermore's wing pressing against the wooden walls until backing away.

The form of Garou embedded the wooden exterior and dropped, slamming against the ground. He hardly limped however, staggering to rise from his hands and knees with baring teeth, his stomach enduring the worst abnormal pain unimaginable, his body hunched over as the figure Nevermore hovered him.

"Garou!" Emma shouted as Gon looked on in shock. She raised her rifle and was prepared to fire at once. Gon ready to sprint and use his fishing rod for immediate extended reach.

**"PICHU!"**

A yellow thing stream of lightning zapped the temple of the Nevermore's mask. Garou dug his nails into the dirt and pushed himself away by several feet. Emma and Gon looked over where the yellow stream attack was flashed from.

From the top of the massive tree, a Pichu was there, its pink circled cheeks sparked with dancing yellow electrical energy. Beside the Pichu was a Pachirisu and the twin-Pokémon Minun and Plusle. Electricity sparked from each of their cheeks and together, they summoned forth electric-lightning like streams from their bodies and tackling the face of the Nevermore.

From below, having climbed out from a secret hole that led to the hidden garden's lake, a Squirtle and a Wooper shot forth water guns from their mouth while beside them, a Piplup blew out a Bubble Beam in Gatling-like infliction. At another spot, a Turtwig, a Bulbasaur, and a Oddish spat out Bullet Seeds, and at another, a Charmander, a Ninetales, and the Growlithe breathed out Flamethrowers. All together, the Pokémon of various shapes and elemental types, summoned various abilities against the Nevermore in their conjoined efforts to defend their home and human friends.

Emma and Gon watched in awe at the power display from the adorable and small creatures that came to their assistance, but Emma instantly realizes her chance and she joined their assault on the Nevermore. "Gon! Get Killua!"

Gon looked around and found Killua getting up from the ground and Gon hurries to his best friend. Garou stagnantly tries to bare the pain that throbbed unforgivingly inside his gut as he takes hiding behind the bushes. He heaves in and out a breath to soothe his insides as he hears the noise of battle behind him. "Come on, come on... Pass. Pass already!"

He cannot fight while he was in agony this way. Maybe he should just hide here until he can somehow better deal with this pain, as long as those kids know how to fight that bird monster themselves, they should be fine. Those boys were strong and that girl was packing heat. It should be just fine, at least for a little while until he can find the comforting rhythm to his breathing and adjust to this pain, maybe it'll pass in a second or two.

The Nevermore recoiled from the barrage of attacks it was enduring. The Growlithe bravely stepped closer. A wallop of flame surrounds and spiral its entire form.

**Fire Wheel!**

The Growlithe rolled into a literal wheel of fire, dashing across the ground and slamming the side belly of the Nevermore. The burning impact erupted another shriek from the Nevermore and it flapped its wing wildly. One of its wing slammed against the Growlithe and swatted it away. The Growlithe exits its flaming spiraling as soon as it hit the wood wall of the giant trees, and dropped down in a whimper.

Emma gasped. The Nevermore wretches its claws and carves the earth as it spluttered to fly, it hopped once to do so, but failled and dropped down, nearing the injured Growlithe with its dagger like claws.

She moved without thinking, for if she wasted a second to consider, the Growlithe will die.

"Emma!" Gon helped Killua up when he saw, to both his and Killua's shock. Garou perked up and whipped his head around, and as soon as he saw, he forgoe all complaints of the pain inside him and burst through the bushes, as the impending doom of the Nevermore's claws came down.

A crushing impact of its weight and the ground. Gon and Killua sprinted back at once. They spotted Garou having dashed underneath the crushing claws of the Nevermore and made it through, skidding across the ground with the small figure and a splash of orange in his hold. He dragged his feet against the dirt to help his stop.

"That was a close one," Garou breathed out. "You really ought to watch yourself-"

He unveiled his arms, the eyes of the Growlithe stared up at him in wonder.

"EMMA!"

The attacks from their befriended creatures have stopped with small gasps. A shout from Gon. The second hop of the winged beast the flapped its wings consecutively. Garou turned his head around.

Gripping the backpack with its bird-feet claws, Emma's widened eyes looked unfathomably at Garou's who lay below her, as she was raised higher from the ground, her hold of her rifle lost and the Monster Tracker she had just recollected earlier, slipped out from her vest pocket and dropped.

The Nevermore takes flight. With it, Emma its captive.

Garou moved on instincts. He launched himself for the massive trees, then launched again for the Nevermore who was heading for the sky, his hand outstretched for the beast and the girl it carried. However, the Nevermore, in its reaction of having to endure ceaseless attacks, flailed its wings back and forth as it staggered its take up, and slapped Garou with the back of its wing, he was thrown back to the large trees, though he was able to pick up his arm and leg and prevented the damage of the wing slap from further injuring the Growlithe, and his back crashed into the wood.

Gon ran forward, he swung back his fishing pole the furthest he could do, and threw the hook for the Nevermore, however, the Nevermore took a sharp flight to the right, and while he had clipped a feather, the feather had loosened and fell, and so did his hook.

"Damn!" Killua cursed loudly. Gon cursed even louder.

From the large trees that were dusty with destruction, Garou emerged and sprung forward. His image fleeting as a speeding racecar, he pushed the Growlithe onto Gon's hold the moment he passes the boy, and continued onwards in such awe-inspiring speed he hustled through with a cramped stomach, sprinting after the flying Nevermore on foot.

"Killua! Follow them!" Gon urged the other boy. Killua understood and left at once, dashing after the pursuing Garou and the soaring Nevermore, where Emma hung by the point edge of its claw

Gon saw to the condition of the Growlithe, although hurt, it did not seem to be physically suffering any worse than some scuff marks and bruises. This was a particularly tough creature even for its small size, and it barked unrestful at Gon. Looking into its eyes, Gon knew the message it was wordlessly conveying with just noises and its expression.

"I understand. I'll go after them."

Setting down the Growlithe, he was then approached by the other friendly creatures. One creature hurried up to him, the Shinx, and in its mouth, the Monster Tracker. Beside the Shinx, the Eevee hurriedly stepped up, carrying Emma's dropped rifle in its mouth. Gon takes both items back and thanked the Shinx and Eevee. He looked down at his fishing pole and the black feather the hook was still attached to. Reeling both in, a greater effort done to haul in the large feather that was much heavier than it seemed.

Although his heart raced to immediately chase after everyone that went, his mind was clear as a realized idea came to him. He takes a piece from the black feather and rubs it against the screen of the Monster Tracker.

**[Analyze complete] [****Name of Species: Nevermore****] ****[Initiating Tracking...]**

Once the tracking device finished loading, Gon nodded in satisfaction and regarded the Pokémon. "Thank you for everything. Don't worry, I'm going to get Emma back, but this is probably the last time I'll ever see you guys again."

The Growlithe smiled happily at the boy, and the expression was returned.

He wished there was a better goodbye than this, but there was no such time for it now. Without another moment to lose, Gon turned around, without a parting wave or even a final grin, he sprinted down the path with his Monster Tracker to guide. The Pokémon cried out its individual unique noises and howls, though dulled by their lingering worries and sadness at this abrupt departure. All they could offer however, were their well wishes for the lives of the humans they have enjoyed bonding with.

Humans made excellent friends, was what their hearts spoke.

/.\

The rushing wind against her ears, her frazzled hair and clothes wild from the harsh breeze that blew against her back as her body dangled several hundreds of feet from the ground of passing trees, and several hundred thousands deeper through the valley of depths lived nothing but blue darkness. Her backpack was caught under the sharp claw of the Nevermore's feet as it continued to escaped through flight, unknowing of the caught child right underneath. A single drop would shatter every bone in her body, and a drop into the abyssal depths means certain death.

It was a terrifying ordeal, being unwillingly carried at this height by the monster that will kill her once it realizes her presence, and if not the winged beast than the fall will be her doom, but she did not panic. She was scared but did not panicked. Panicking would not do anything except worsen her experience. She must keep her composure, and find a way to save herself.

She must think of something. Think. Think! How can she rescue herself from this position? How can she safely reach the ground? Perhaps if she were to risk herself, she may need to endure a broken femur or two, but that will lead her susceptible of any monster that may attack her weakened state. No. That must be the last resort, she must figure something out that will guarantee her unharmed descent foremost, and all while time was limited before the Nevermore will notice her.

Below her feet she spotted something dashing through the forest in pursuit after her carried body. His silver hair that made it look like the long ears of a dark animal running on two legs, Emma recognized the figure of Garou right away. She had seen how strong he was and how fast he was capable of, perhaps he could catch her? If she times herself correctly, he might be able to catch her, she may also have no choice but to abandon her backpack to do so, but she should not let him risk himself so much. Though her under pits were locked by the straps of her backpack, she was able to wave at the chasing hunter widely. She could not shout for him though, because that will attract the Nevermore's attention.

Garou's gilded eyes trailed after the flying figure of the Nevermore and the girl whose frantic arms waved at him. He skips and sprinted from tree to tree, propelling himself with a deep push of each leg. The speed of a cheetah could not outmatch the speed of an airplane, but he will break that fatalistic view with his own body. His speed increasing, he was closer beneath the Nevermore, one mighty jump will do to reach it. He followed the Nevermore all the way to the higher walls of the next canyon, a single jump that went over ten feet until he reached the ledge, his feet quickly trek the stone walls as the Nevermore's body tilted and glide along the canyon.

_I-incredible!_ Emma wanted to shout her amazement. When she was younger, she had more than once ran up one of the trees in Gracefield with just her feet and no use of her hands to see how far she could go, always trying to reach the top until Mama told her to stop or she would hurt herself, which did happen more than once as she always tumbled back down, Ray even called her dumb while Norman worried for her well-being. She knew it was possible somehow, if she only had more strength and speed in her legs, but this was a whole level above! To wall-run a canyon was something else entirely! There really were such strong competitors here in this competition.

Garou presses on, never losing his momentum. The Nevermore than suddenly takes farther above the canyon and he follows, jumping each footing support and they reached the flat top where another forest lay about.

He slammed right into a big pink blob shape and it repelled him instantly until he quickly carved his fingers into the ground and just caught himself from falling off the ledge.

Croak. Croak.

The beady bulging eyes of the Big Toad stood in his way, and with several of its rubber pink-skin friends behind it. The worst enemy imaginable for a person of brute force to go up against. It was the worst match he was only destined to ever face of course. It's how his life has always been.

Garou's eyes shot up for the Nevermore who was growing farther and farther away. He only has a minute before he may lose that Nevermore and the girl. Better avoid these guys-

The Big Toad bounced for him, a high hop that honestly took Garou by surprised and he sprinted aside. The ground quaked at the Big Toad's descent but he managed to keep his balance, "I don't have time to deal with you giant frogs."

The Big Toad seem to take offense to that, an angry shine in its eyes - Giant Frogs were another species entirely. Aggravated to be mistaken by this, the group of Big Toads remained blocking the path further into the forest area, every loud croak expanding their bodies like wart as they began leaping towards Garou, every hop a tremble of the ground.

"Not letting me pass, huh?"

Fists won't work against these monsters, just as Emma had demonstrated to him before, when they first came across that lone Big Toad.

_"It looks like only sharp objects could harm it,"_ Emma had explained to him, having stopped him from finishing off the monster himself for legitimate reasons such as the way to kill it.

_"Anything else, even bullets, might not be effective at all. I can finish it off with my arrows and this flower I have._ She had shown him this flower of closed white buds and a piercing stem, _Let me handle this, I don't want it to suffer any longer."_

He had relented half of the prize to her then, and observed curiously as the pointy edge of the weapon and that strange flower she used did in fact easily stab through the rubber skin monster.

"Only sharp objects huh?" He brought up his relaxed hands, fingers pressed together and made it knife-like. "Then all I have to do is make my hands just as sharp."

He could easily slice through limbs if he wanted to, like that arm he took from that hero where those flame-throwers were hiding underneath the sleeves. He had fought swordsman before, a preparation for when he eventually crosses with the S-Class hero Atomic Samurai and his lackeys. To make his hands sharp as the sharpest blades, he'll have to swing his arms like swords...

The image of the boy in the cloud pattern blue kimono briefly invaded his mind. That katana glimmering its sharpness, it's flow like water streams that sliced through a monster. It also looked like there was some kind of use of a breathing technique judging from that brief intense air slipping through that boy's teeth.

He shall copy that.

Combining martial arts as he remembers the movements of that boy with the scar on his forehead, a large intake of breathe as Garou pushed the balm of his feet against the ground.

**Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist.**

He sprung forth.

**Slicing Water Wheel!**

His arms rushed forward in curved streams with uncurled fingers, in swift motion his whole body rolled forward, like a raging wheel that had whips of spikes that sliced through the rubbery exterior of the Big Toads, killing all of them at once. He brought down his foot and struck the top head of the stabbed Big Toad, an attack that was rendered useless for the blunt of it, so he uses it as his leverage, pushing it against his heel and bounced himself over the Big Toad.

He resumed his way, leaving the shredded bodies of the low-croaking monsters far behind him. Hustling ahead to catch up with the Nevermore he had lost sight of.

/.\

Emma watched as Garou was suddenly stopped by the presence of the Big Toad, the lack of time she was given to warn him from the quick flight of the Nevermore, or if he would even hear her, and in a few seconds, lost her sight of the dark hunter, leaving only to herself to help now.

She looked down at the forest far below her feet. If she were to drop, she may be able to land among the trees, but the fall will certainly hurt her and if she is not careful, she could have herself impaled. She felt the shifting angle of the Nevermore and turned her head. The Nevermore was heading for the walls of the mountain side, its nest likely stationed somewhere there or its intending to keep flying elsewhere. If so, then Emma must react now while the chance was still presented for her to land, but how can she do so without-

An idea swiftly came to her mind and she clutches it before it would pass. From the angle of her backpack that the claw of the Nevermore had under, her arrows fell out. Emma threw her hand forward and grasped a single arrow. She looked and ensured that the four-barrel pistol was still in the pocket of her pants. _Now or never!_

With the arrow in her hold, she jabbed it into the finger claw of the Nevermore, hitting its sharp pointy into the soft spot of the joint. The Nevermore flinched with a cry, loosening the slight curl of its feet in reaction. The backpack slipped out of its grip completely, and Emma descended towards the forest. The horror of such a fall, she forced her mind to keep calm even as the brace of the wind pushes against her, and reaches for her pocketed pistol.

Aiming the pistol at the between the four trees with her eyes strained from the pushing wall of her fall, she found the exact fall of where she will fall, and pulled the trigger.

**Net!**

The bullet shot, it exploded into strings of a sticky net and fell upon the four trees. She mindfully held in her breath, the pressure of the fall unable to have her do so physically, she curled her body, her stomach flipped as she did so with her whole body in mid-air, her cheeks puffed as she braced herself and closed her eyes, begging for the success of her survival.

She fell between the trees, her back fell to the center of the net. A plummeting speed that near instantly declined, her limbs feeling the sticky string as she continued to fall slower and slower, until a mere bump to the ground.

An endured squeak through her tight-lip at the bump with tightened eyes, but nothing broke, or even hurt. She slowly opened her eyes, finding the sky ceiling of the mountain, and herself alive.

The loud caw of the Nevermore instigated her immediate movement. She reaches and picks out the remaining arrows she has with her, twelve were able to hold on as several others either stuck to the net, has fallen idly everywhere among the ground she was hovering over, and the rest fallen among the trees. She uses the sharp point of her arrows to cut herself free, as she could not reach her backpack for the sharp stone she used as her carving knife, in this position she was somewhat stuck. It was a daunting task but with no monster nearby and the Nevermore seemingly having flown away, she took her time until she was able to cut herself free and slipped through the net.

Dropping to her feet, Emma examined her surroundings. It was nothing but the thick forest, though it was due to its thickness that her net was able to tightly grasp onto something as its pins for her fall to go as it did, so she was thankful for it. But now lies where she is to go next.

She reaches for her Monster Tracker, but found it no longer on her once again. "It must have fallen out after that Nevermore took me."

She really should make a sort of small satchel for her to securely place in her tracker, while still in each for her to check it at anytime. She was also aware that her rifle was missing, remembering how she lost her grip of her weapon after being suddenly picked up by the Nevermore. She armed herself with her bow and what remaining arrows she has left and was able to recover from all around her.

She then takes to the trees, climbing up the tall ones until reaching the top, but kept herself hidden within the bushes so that the Nevermore, if it was still around, would not see her overhead. She maneuvered through and around the branches and bushes, taking regard to any landmarks she was able to memorize even as she was being glided passed.

"No good. I can't see anything from here," she was not at a high enough tree. There was only the sight of the rest of the forest. She did however spotted the mountain side, considerably close although it is certain to be a hefty walk. There were ledges sticking out, perhaps if she makes her way there, she might have a better view of her surroundings.

She quickly climbed back down the tree. It was uncertain how well it will turn out, since it was out in the open, and not only the Nevermore but any creature might see her. With no other options disclosed to her however, she did what was left than to simply stand there. She has to keep moving.

Starting off that direction to the mountain side, she traverses on foot through the flat path that were between the large trees, only ground meshed with some grass. She had her bow and arrow at the ready, keeping her senses keen to the whole area. She was walking blind now, without her tracker, but she can manage without it. She just has to keep attentive.

"I hope everyone is okay," Emma whispered out. "Gon, Killua, Garou..."

Suddenly, her body shivered. _Danger was near._

A rustle from the bushes behind her, she steadily turns around, and looked up.

Rising above the bushes, a heinous growl from the gnawing teeth of fangs that poked through its rotting lips, a skeleton-like figure with green-gray moss-like flesh. Dead eyes that was abyssal black. Its body thickened with muscles and white-silver fur. Its shape was like that of a gorilla, yet far bigger than those depicted in the animal anthropology textbooks.

Her eyes widened with a delayed reaction of fear, as the beast before her howled a terrible animalistic scream. The howl of an ape that looked to have died long ago.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading, I've been thinking of going back and rewriting the chapters just to fix some things that's been bothering me. Nothing major just some changes, maybe erasure of certain dialogues or sentences. I want to give the best treatment to each character as I can hope to apply for this story.**

**I've even been thinking of adding a chapter where Gon and Killua spend more time with Emma during their travel through the Forest of Doom right before their meeting with Garou, so that their feelings of obligation to keep Emma safe would feel more natural.**

**I'm going to be off the grid for a while, entering my finals week starting this week and the next few and I have essays to write. Thank you all for your support and lovely reviews! Praying for days to get better for all of us. Until next time!**


	11. Great Beasts Within the Mountain

Chapter 11: Great Beasts Within the Mountain

The Yasha Ape was an animal. A beast of great strength that no mere man could challenge themselves against, without falling to their doom under his crushing fists nor survive his wild savagery, nimbleness, and brute strength that could kill a bear with his own hands. The Yasha Ape was known as the Beast of Yasha Craig, following a line of previous great apes that lived before him, and one who will live after him.

The Yasha Ape has only ever faced two losses in its whole life, his first defeat at the hands of a boy with bright red-orange hair, wearing only his red shorts, bandaged wrists and ankles. His defeat by this boy, who had been thirteen years old at the time, was a declaration of how strong this young human was, and how much stronger he will inevitably be, and had earned the Yasha Ape's respect, as well as his like.

His second defeat was by the hands of that boy's father, the same father who had vanquished the previous Yasha Ape. It was by those same hands that also kills this Yasha Ape, without mercy, and taken his head to taunt his son with, to bring ire in the boy's strong blood.

Murdered by the hands of_ the Ogre_ that murdered his wife, the Yasha Ape had been enraged to his last breath. A corruption that mutated his form, his body rotting but his strength unhindered, to challenge or be challenged as an obstacle yet still declared animal to throw off any competitor. He had lived in a mountain, and found his way into the valley.

But his hatred has influenced him severely, for the murderer of the previous Yasha Ape - his wife, and leaving the next ape - his child, to take charge as the Beast of Yasha Craig, no matter his infancy. It scorched into his mind and soul, molded his body with a restless angry spirit.

The Yasha Ape was no longer an animal capable of human thought.

He had become a monster of pure animalistic rage.

/.\

Heavy fists of gray skin smashed against the ground, broken chunks scattered from the cracked ground. With all her might, Emma ran through the forest, her legs carrying her through the bushes and over boulders with all of her humanly strength as each obstacle were easily torn and crushed through by the power of the Undead Ape that chased her from behind. She took turns and rounded trees, ways that would keep her from getting caught and instantly killed by the monster beast, the continuous howling that sounded to be just at the back of her head.

The terror of the pursuer pushed her while her mind kept clear, urgently keeping her focus ahead with a hasty breath. She sprinted around a tree and the Undead Ape punched it, breaking through the wood and some of the side. At this brief pause, she spun around, held up her bow and pulled arrow, and fired.

A strike to the skull of the Undead Yasha Ape, but he merely had his head recoiled back, grabbing the arrow embedded in its forehead and pulled it out. Black ooze seeped out from the wound and tainted the sharp end of her arrow, the Undead Yasha Ape easily snapped it like a twig, and roared at the girl who quickly turned back and resumed her flee.

The tremendous strength that this beast had, while much smaller than the likes of the Crimson Splitjaw, the Demon-Devil Serpent, and all of the other giant monsters she came across with, she knew at once that a single hit from this beast will kill her instantly. Even an arrow to the head did almost nothing, either its skull was incredibly tough, or there must be a certain other way to defeat this monster.

Either or, she must keep running.

Sprinting through the bushes, Emma came upon a very spacious clearing surrounded by bushes and trees, several large boulders around, a cave nearby. She looked up briefly and nearly stopped in her tracks out of shock. Nothing but a massive, indistinguishable height of stone wall. It wasn't the side of the valley, but she fathomed what it was. That Nevermore she had freed herself from had flown this far, she had fallen into a forest next to the mountainside.

The ravage roar behind her, Emma sprinted across the area, rushing behind the closest boulder. The Undead Yasha Ape tailed her, and with a single leap, he swung down both his arms and his fists crush the boulder, beating it down brutally until it was nothing more than chunks and pebbles. However, no blood was spurted from his fists, and further investigation with a single glance shows that the girl was no longer there.

From the second boulder she was able to reach, having felt the dreaded descent of the Undead Yasha Ape, Emma carefully peaked around the boulder. Holding in her breath and the exertion from her run. A clear shot to the head of the ape did nothing, which leads to believe that it either requires more severe attacks, ways of its defeat differ, or its weak point is somewhere else. Only guesses she carries, and even so, mere arrows and their wooden stab-points might not be enough to take down this beast of muscles.

This was not a monster she could reason with. A mad creature who continued to beat the ground in rage. She could seek a way of escape, but if this beast sees her, she'll be caught up with and die. No, escape wasn't an option, this monster will only pursue her. She must stand her ground and fight for her life, then find her way back to the others. Only armed with her bow and arrows, and her pistol loaded with bullets meant only to hinder and disrupt her targets, she must either pierce an exposed, most-sensitive area like the eyes or the neck, or she must somehow utilize a greater fire power like her rifle that she is currently without, or better yet, like the kind of power she saw Gon unleashed. Of course, she had no such strength, only her own clever mind to rely on.

_Wait-!_

Taking her eyes off of the rampaging Undead Yasha Ape as he searches for the little girl, Emma removed her backpack. Opening it quickly, she pulls out a couple of long arrow-sticks that were tied together by a long string of a thin rope. The tip of the arrows covered by a velvet-purple pouch also tied closed by a tiny rope and she hurriedly unraveled it.

The sharp stone that shimmered like silver, carved embedded red stones at the base of the arrow heads. This was her thank-you gift from the ogre child, son of the Ogre chief, now grown leader of the Kijin clan. For her gift of the boar hide she gave to him as her thanks for his clan's kind gestures, at her return and final farewell, he had given her these arrow heads he made for her. Promised to be enchanted with magical elements that will leave impending effects on whatever target she uses this against.

Alongside the other pointed ammunition that were the Banana Fish needles, Emma has been saving these arrows for when she truly needed them. She was unable to reach these arrows for when that large Devil Serpent appeared, but now this may be her chance. About a dozen of these enchanted arrows she has in hand, she must use them with the greatest precision she could muster. Today was the final day. She must achieve her fifth star now, or fail.

She debated the use of these arrows, or if she should use the Banana Fish needles first, hinder the creature's mobility, though the effects may only drive the monster ape into insanity, thus worsening its savagery as a dangerous opponent for her, but its loss of coherent thought would leave it vulnerable.

There was also the Support Card she had on her, the **Mystery Box Card**. But using this card was a literal gamble. A card of random effects and can only be used once. A fifty-fifty chance that whatever card comes forth will mean her advantage, or none at all.

Before she could decide, the boulder behind her was suddenly lifted and ripped from the ground, ground dust spilled as she spun around. The Undead Yasha Ape growled with a horrible breath and vicious animal teeth that protrude from his own decaying lips. At his screech of finding her, Emma sprinted, grabbing her backpack with the special arrows and the bow she clutches.

The boulder was brought down with a harsh throw, shattering it into several pieces and crushing the ground beneath it. Emma wasted no time, wearing her backpack at once, she dropped all but one of the enchanted arrows as there was no time to properly secure them in the side pocket of her pack, pulling by the bowstring the end of the gifted arrow she mentally thanked the ogre child for, and released it.

The enchanted arrow stabbed below the left collar-bone of the Beast, right where the heart is likely to be. The Undead Yasha Ape seemed to care little of it at first, as he believed none of her arrows could harm him effectively. However, an instant eruption of heat changed his expression. Fire swarmed and spilled out from the arrow, bursting from the wound and swarming his chest and spread throughout the rest of his body.

The Undead Yasha Ape screamed a terrible and terrifying pain. It wildly flailed its limbs and figure all around, harshly patting himself and rolling across the ground in an effort to put out the flames that was eating away his rotting skin.

_It's weak to fire!_ Emma grasped the reaction of the Undead Yasha Ape, recalling the stories she hears of how zombies have a weakness towards certain elements such as salt, holy water, Light Magic, and what is said to be the most effect form, fire.

She grabbed the next enchanted arrow from the ground and fired. Distracted from his agony, the Undead Yasha Ape was stabbed with yet another arrow, this time to his arm as he was wailing across the ground. A second wave of flames surrounded the top half of the monster, like a red-orange veil that was bursting from his shoulder. The sound of the Undead Yasha Ape awful screams enveloped her heart with sorrow for the creature in pain.

A chunk of the crushed rocks was grabbed by the engulfed-flamed Undead Yasha Ape from the smashed boulder beside him, and he threw a handful of them for Emma, enough force to break bones and crush organs upon contact. Emma saw its action just in time, and jumped aside. The thrown rocks shot passed her form, and crashed into the other boulder, breaking the large stone's exterior.

She can't allow herself to hesitate, or else it will be her life that will pay for it. Quelling her mind, she reached for her next arrow, but just as she does so, she witnessed a horrifying display

The Undead Yasha Ape's fingers clenched into his flesh and started tearing it off from his body and the flames with it, screaming all the way while the enchanted flames consumed the remnants of his own torn pieces that fell upon the ground, even the deceased blood that spilled have also burned up, staining in charred black. The flames have burnt away some of its silver hair, burning away the strands from his limbs and under his chin.

And from what the burning flames revealed, a long scar that seemed to reach all around the neck of the Undead Yasha Ape. Like a dark red-gray fleshy blister he wore as a choker. A weak spot?

She armed herself with the third enchanted arrow, acting quickly. Aiming at the neck scar while the Undead Yasha Ape wailed itself in ripping away its own flesh. Even for the spurting flames and the flailing of the beast, the wounded point between the exposed jawline and the clavicle constantly moving, she remained calm, her steady focus on the moving target.

_Hit it!_

She released the arrow. A dead-point accuracy that would meet the end of her enchanted arrow to the neck wound.

But the arrow was stopped mere inches away.

In brisk movements, the Undead Yasha Ape tossed his hands up in front of his neck. Guided by his perilous instincts that sensed the coming arrow, his hands slammed together, capturing the fired stick and its enchanted arrowhead in between his huge palms. Emma gaped in shock at his quick grasp of her arrow, the flames of the beast dying out as most of its burning flesh have been torn out, granting him better bearings.

The stick of the enchanted arrow snapped in between his fingers, and a vicious roar erupted from the Undead Yasha Ape's throat. Emma urgently grabbed the remaining enchanted arrows as the monster launched itself with a push of his fists against the ground, white jagged teeth baring.

Emma sprinted for one of the boulders, running around it as the monster reached near her and swung its fist, breaking the boulder in a single hit. It thrash and attacked wildly, she remained on the run while the rampage behind her destroys whatever boulder she passes for cover, the beastly howl so extraordinary that it could be heard for miles.

No chance would be given to allow a preferred safe distance to unleash her other arrows._ I have to take the shot now!_

She hurriedly pocketed the enchanted arrows to the side-pocket of her backpack. Readying her fourth arrow, she turned with her bow and string held for the beast, but horror widened her eyes as a shadow gradually darkens over her entire small figure.

She sprinted away. A large boulder fell behind her, smashing against the ground and crumbling into rubble, chunks of rocks scattered everywhere. Another shadow fell over Emma's head and she continue to pursue for safety, barely avoiding being crushed by the second thrown boulder.

The Undead Yasha Ape howled as he picks up boulders from the area, and tossing them for the little girl as revenge for her shot arrows. Emma ran left and right as boulders rain down around her, rushing as much as she could humanly muster for an athletic eleven-year-old, enough to keep herself from being smashed under the smacking weight of these large rocks that were far bigger than her. She mindfully debates if she should enter the cave for cover, but uncertain of what awaits there, either a dead-end that will leave her trapped or more monsters, and for all that can be assumed, it was the home of the Undead Yasha Ape, a place he would be far more familiar with than she.

Another descending shadow appeared, this time in front of her and she abruptly stopped. The hard landing boulder made her bounce on her feet and blocked her escape avenue. A second hard impact against the ground beside her, then a third that was enough to trip her, and something slipped out from her backpack that had not been fully closed.

It was another closely tied and thick rag-covered sets of special arrows - the Banana Fish needle arrows. Several boulders fell around her, in a single throw all at once by the beast behind her, her arms covering her head in brace against the quake that was rather minor, yet major for the eleven-year-old. Emma looked up ahead. She found herself mostly enclosed by nothing but boulders. She hears the vicious yelling of the Undead Yasha Ape, and felt the tremor of his approaching feet.

_Get up! Get up!_

With the beast's direction a way out, dare she run by him and risk capture? No, his reaction was too well, the underestimation to his small prey gone, he will certainly capture her and kill her with his bare hands. She grabs the set of needle arrows in front of her, pushes herself to stand and bolted towards the opening in between the bottom of the ground-embedded boulders, small but easy for someone of her size to get through.

She dropped and slid through the opening with her feet entering first, as the pounding of mighty fists cracked the earth behind her head. She presses on, standing right back up but ducked as the boulder behind her was broken through and flung passed over her head, too close that it grazed her long orange strand at the top of her head and she stumbled, clutching the set needle-arrows still.

The Undead Yasha Ape kicked his way through, a chunk of the remaining half of the boulder flew from his powerful bare-foot. Emma's saving grace was her intuition of pressing danger, she pushed herself and rolled to the side. Watching as the chunk of the other half of the boulder striking against a tree that was tough enough to break the wood and have it bend forward.

She sees right beneath her feet, the steaming beast of flaming shoulders drew closer, his loud roar painful to her ears and trickled her skin, his hideous breath smelled at this distance. Holding onto her bearings still, she pulled out one needle arrow from the set beside her, a simple stick with the Banana Fish needle of laced poison adeptly embedded in the arrow tied closed by a strings, she pulled the needle-arrow by the bowstring, and fires.

Whether the effects of the poison will affect an undead, or if the result of its reaction will mean only her ill-fate, it was a chance she had to make, to disrupt the monster in any way could. To grant her enough time to gain distance.

The arrow flew, and the Yasha Ape raised its hand to catch it, however, through a decisive move and instantly acknowledging the on-point reaction of the Undead Yasha Ape, she had aimed it below the monster, and watched it as her arrow stabbed into the beast's knee.

The monster was not pleased. He grabbed and ripped out of the needle-arrow. Emma kicked off the ground, a hasty back-pedal crawl, it was her chance to run now, run and use the enchanted arrows while keeping out of this monster's reach-

Her back hits against the large log of a fallen tree she had not seen, nor expected. She hadn't even gotten to her feet yet.

She was cornered.

Snapping her needle-arrow carried his blood, the Undead Yasha Ape saw this as well.

Fear swallowed her heart and stomach. The Undead Yasha Ape approaches her with the steady pace of a four-legged predator savoring the disparity of his trapped small prey, but anger at his endured pain fueled his mind the most, he screamed at her once more and launched himself.

_Move!_

To the side, below, or even try to climb over the log behind her. Either way, it was almost promised that something will break. If she flees, her legs will be the one those falling fists will crush.

No time was spared for the memory of the anguishing when last she suffered that sort of injury, but whereas Isabella cleanly broke her leg as to ensure the "product," that Emma was, would still be in pristine condition by the time she would recover in only a few months, the beast before her has no intention of treating her with that amount of kindness. He will break her legs to a point that they may never recover.

But terrible pain as oppose to instant death, or even the acceptance of willing defeat, there was only one option Emma will take without a second thought. For her family, she cannot allow herself to die. For them, she will suffer the most wretched pain in the whole world._ For her family, for their future!_

As with the beast, the powerful fists came down. Emma stood up, without second consideration or pause. She moved.

Crush.

The sound of bones breaking - shattering.

The last that she knew to ever feel, putting every bit of her strength into her run, her face smacked into a rugged wall and she fell back with a short cry, the only pain felt was her sore nose and forehead. Legs, or anything on her body unharmed. Emma quickly glanced up.

A human arm stopped the impact of both the Undead Yasha Ape's fists, the arm dressed in black long-sleeves, followed by his tight shirt. His legs of baggy tan pants locked in brace under the strength of the monster's attack, feet of black slippers firmly pressed against the cracked ground.

Her dread went instantly. She looked at his back in astonish, the back of his head with its twin silver spiky hair unforgettable.

Silently, he revved up his other baring hand, with a twist of his wrist, he slammed it right into the stomach of the Undead Yasha Ape, putting forth all of his power, and knocked the shocked monster far, pained howling right to the other side of the area.

His gold-chrome glare harsh, the fury and viciousness of a wolf, and the brutality as demon-like as his hair and general personality. His fingers bared along with his raised arm, a slight uneven shape of the limb, but he expressed no pain. Or at least, he did very, _extraordinarily_ well in hiding it.

The shocking sudden intervention of Garou and his durability to stand against the power of the monster ape, Emma was stunned to silence, mouth agape. But her mind comprehended.

He had protected her.

He had saved her.

She wanted to smile, but the fact of what happened and what even she had heard was reminded. The unmistakable sound of breaking from the bones in his arm.

"...You still alive?"

Emma flinched at his voice, emulated roughness but incredibly no evident agony in his tone. She muffled out a yes, placing the needle-arrow set into the other side of her backpack pocket, and looked longer at his broken limb, "You're-"

"Then you better get ready to move," he curtly added, eyes on the rising beast ahead of him.

The Undead Yasha Ape recovered, a nasty puke of its saliva from the attack of Garou. The monster roared in fury, and pushed himself forward with a powerful leap. Garou quickly grasped Emma by the back of her sweater with his uninjured arm and he moved, dashing to the side while the Undead Yasha Ape gives furious chase. Backing away constantly to keep himself from the pursuing rotting gorilla, but the feisty monster was persistent. When he rounded behind a boulder, the Undead Yasha Ape grasped it and swung himself around with a powerful kick.

Garou ducked and brought up his broken arm, pushing away the leg with his hand he puts into with a growl, and deflecting the kick though not superbly, a sheer sharp jabbing pain in his shoulder from this effort.

_Damn._ He quietly snarled through his teeth, the fingers of his broken arm barely coming to a close, although he could force it to, but the severity of his injury was telling, as was the power of this monster. Garou's fighting style relies on the uses of his arms, with one nearly out of commission, his martial arts will impede. Had he not confronted the strength of the Undead Yasha Ape up front, he would have avoided this critical damage.

Of course, the beast's fist were already close to the girl, and by the time Garou arrived, she would have been crushed even if she tried to run away. A split-second decision was made, any later and she would have been off far worse than he is right now, even to prep an attack against the ape monster would have still led her open for a hit.

He backed away some more and swiftly moved behind another large boulder. The Undead Yasha Ape followed, but Garou had already quickly took to the next tree, and hid together with Emma as the ape monster roared in search for them.

"Hey. Can't that tracker tell us what this guy's weakness is?" Garou recalled the little girl mentioning this, since his arm was practically screwed, it would be helpful to know how to defeat this beast quickly.

"Y-yeah, but I dropped it after that giant bird took me."

Oh. Well, so much for that then.

"But I think I know what his weak point."

A crushing sounds of the other boulders that sought for the hiding competitors, Garou looked down at her, his curious attention captured.

Coming to a calm, Emma informs what she had visually gathered, pointing at her numbered neck for emphasis, "There's a wound-scar around his neck, like it was torn all the way through or something," the way that ape monster's scar was rigged and wretched, it was not done cleanly by any normal sort of bladed or blunt weaponry.

"Even after I shot an arrow in his head, he could still move, so the neck might be where we're supposed to hit to kill or beat it. Maybe... we have to actually decapitate it," she includes with a grim look in her small face. "He's also weak to fire. I already used a few arrows that were enchanted with explosive flames. He has a really good reaction though. He caught the third arrow I shot and broke it, but the arrowhead wasn't damaged, so I think we can still use it. We don't need to look for it though. I have about ten enchanted arrows left. Just a few more hits might be enough."

Garou breathed out thoughtfully. Today was the last day, and they still needed their fifth star before time runs out. Which means he will have to fight this monster now, or potentially lose the Preliminary after being so close, and if there's one thing he sought out of anything, it's his desire to never lose to anyone.

A sharp kick might even do if all it takes is for him to strike that area in the neck, but if the little girl was correct in her description, then a simple hit won't just do. He'll have to actually lop that monster's head right off those shoulders. He'll give her credit for the info, and her survival to retain it. Better than having to walk in blind without knowing the best way to beat it. But even knowing that much, with an arm like this, it might be better to just escape.

But when will they have a chance like this again? Even if they find another hunt, his injured arm would still be an issue even if he fills himself up with a grand nutritious meal. This kind of injury needed a cast, and time was already running out.

It would be detrimental to abandon this hunt now. He has to take this, broken limb or no, even as his stomach was still churning with pain.

"Alright," Garou affirmed, "I'll handle him. You keep yourself out of sight."

She looked up at him, worriedly. Not a sight he liked. "But, your arm. It's broken, isn't it? We have to fix it-"

A sudden burst of wind hits them, and a loud eagle-like monstrous screech resounded the air. Garou looked up the sky in aggravated disbelief, "Oh you got to be-"

The black silhouette of a winged creature, entirely out of literal darkness, soared overhead. The rage of the Undead Yasha Ape had attracted the Grimm monster's attention, and with its attention to the familiar preys down below. A harsh flap of its wings, and the large black sword-feathers were shot down like raining bullets.

Garou grabbed Emma, his arm around her waist, and carried her like luggage. His swift figure dodging the feathers that cuts through the boulder with ease, and piercing the ground.

"Behind you!" Emma yelled as she looked behind Garou's elbow. His eyes widened and teeth clenched as he felt the presence of the Undead Yasha Ape, having backed up to avoid the sharp feathers and ending up close to the ape monster. He cursed under his breath and lunged himself to the side, avoiding a punch to his back that would have also shattered his spine, and instead the ground suffered this in his place.

"Garou!" The girl then screamed, fearing eyes directly towards the sky, and the approaching Nevermore that glided downwards for them. Garou gritted his teeth, pushing the balms of his feet and kicked to dash backwards. The beak of the Nevermore opened with a screech that rattled Emma's eardrums. He hurries to prepare a kick directly underneath the chin-beak of the Grimm, moving Emma in his hold away as she grasped his arm.

**"Thunderbolt!"**

A white flash of lightning struck the side of the Nevermore's head. The Nevermore recoiled and lost momentum, tumbling to the ground and prompting Garou to take a big leap back. The Undead Yasha Ape does the same, observing the creature with careful assessment, and an anger of being intervened by another monster.

"Hah!" A fierce yell from the other end of the area. The Undead Yasha Ape sensed an incoming attack and turned. A boulder smashed into his entire front and pushed him to the other corner of the area, moved from a punch the young Hunter unleashed.

"Emma! Garou!" Gon said in happy relief, waving his hand at the surprised girl and older teen.

"Finally found you guys," Killua landed on his feet after jumping from a tree to launch his attack. "I couldn't keep up with either of you."

It wasn't a surprise that the huge bird could gain such a distance with those massive wings of it. What did surprise him, however, was Garou's own speed that had been much greater than even Killua's, and the boy would think he was a nimble person as it is. Added to the rough terrains, twist and turns, and wall running canyons in trying to keep up with the fleeting silver hair and the captor Nevermore, the young ex-assassin ended up losing both targets until he was met up by Gon, who was able to lead them here to the Nevermore with the Monster Tracker Emma had dropped.

"Gon! Killua!" Emma called to the boys as Garou backs away further from the frantic wings of the Nevermore. Killua quickly takes up close to the Grimm creature's side, rounding it in such remarkable speed that Emma could not keep track of his figure at all. Garou had no issue in following the ex-assassin's movements, the gilded orbs in his eyes flickering all around, trained to catch up with a few speedy opponents he met in his world and some here in this competition. He saw the boy jump and landed on the back of the Nevermore, slamming down both hands.

**"Lightning Palm!"**

There, he saw. Although faint in his eyes, there was indeed a flash of white-blue static energy that tackled the back of the Nevermore. The dark creature screeched, its body frozen stiff with sparks and statics worming over. Killua pushed himself off and met Gon alongside.

Gon began revving up power in his fist to unleash **Jajaken**, but the enraged roar of the Undead Yasha Ape pulled his focus away from the Nevermore and he yelled, "Watch out!"

A round and massive boulder was lifted from the ground that was beside the cave entrance, carrying over his shoulders was the Undead Yasha Ape, and he throws it. Garou instantly moved, carrying Emma. Gon and Killua ran as well. The boulder crashed into the body of the Nevermore, knocking it into a couple of trees and damaging it, but otherwise freeing the Nevermore from it's stunned state, and the black-winged creature immediately took flight.

They embraced the harsh wind of its flapped wings. Emma watched the Nevermore take to the sky again, circling the area that they were on. Now it was two monsters they have to deal with, one from above and one right here with them.

"Gon!" Killua warned the other boy, prompting the both of them to dash as a round of bullet-like rocks were thrown by the Undead Yasha Ape, and some being thrown for Garou and Emma also. The young Hunters strengthened their **Ken**, protecting themselves from the impacts of these powerfully thrown stones, and even knocking them away with their arms and kicks, destroying them.

Garou did not move. An intense focus in his gaze, he lets go of Emma and she fell with a surprised gasp. Raising his uninjured arm and tossing up his leg, he catches and kicks the bullet-like stones, not missing one. His hand swerved with the clutched stones, and he returned them to the ape monster with undiminished weight in their speed and power.

The Undead Yasha Ape was surprised at the returning thrown stones, but he reacted quickly, and threw forwards both his fists, smashing and destroying most of the stones while the rest of his body endured the ones he was unable to dodge, and he let out a terrifying scream of anger.

"You got a lot of other arrows, kid?" Garou asked the girl behind him, keeping his eyes on the ape monster who stood there in assessment. Emma just about stood up when she was suddenly grabbed again. A hail of black sword-like feathers fell and pierced the ground, he and the other boys swiftly dodges all of them, Emma honestly could not keep up with how amazingly reactive all of them were.

Taking a brief moment of breath, she affirmatively answered, "Yes. I should have enough for the ape monster and that giant bird over us."

Gon's fishing rod and Killua's yo-yo, from what she has seen, would not stretch far enough to reach the Nevermore. She was the only one among them to have the weapons needed against that flyer of darkness, but these enchanted arrows were also essential to defeat the Undead Yasha Ape, so she will have to mostly use her regular arrows and the Banana Fish arrows, fight both monsters at once.

It will be difficult with a constantly flying opponent and a ravaged beast of incredible instincts, but it could be done, just as when she had to flee and attack all those wild demons back in her world, always shifting her attention from the ground to the trees that the wild demons would occasionally come down from. She has to do this, Gon, Killua and herself were the only ones who can still fight while Garou's right arm is debilitated. He'll need time to recover and fix his arm somehow.

"Got it. You're with those two then."

Without further elaboration, Garou tosses the surprised Emma for Gon and Killua, who were surprised at her sudden arrival and tumble to their position. Gon immediate came to her side as she looked back at Garou in confused wonder.

"Go and help your friends," he told her bluntly, "You handle that bird if you can. I'll deal with this monkey."

He's really going to keep fighting? With his broken limb? It hasn't even been wrapped together! There's no telling how bad the damage is! "Wait-!"

Gon then yanked her away as he and Killua avoided another hail of large black feathers. Garou watched as they flee to the forest for cover, the concern in the girl's voice unwarranted and definitely not wanted. He looked back at the monster that was before him and entered into a fighting stance, holding up his broken arm with its terrible pain he internally beats down. The Undead Yasha Ape stared death onto his whole being, somehow understanding Garou's intent to face him himself, that he paid no more mind to the children that were leaving the area.

This fighter, the ape realized, instigated a feeling of nostalgia. An opponent to challenge him with his bare fists alone. Many have tried to defeat the Great Ape with weapons, but they were all nothing more than toys, a depiction of the opponent's own weakness. To wield only their hands, it was a show of how they intend to fight, a show of who they are; that they face death and danger up front.

Some fighters were foolish this way. Some fighters have died by his own hands this way. Only two have ever come out victorious against himself. It has been a while since he met someone like this, he preferred living the quiet and peaceful life in the wilderness, but this was not unwelcome. It reminded him of how it was, at his old home. The Undead Yasha Ape accepted his challenge with another terrifying roar. _Come fighter!_

Garou was unfazed, "Let's go, you rotten ape." He'll return the favor for his destroyed limb.

/.\

Gon and Killua takes behind the several trees in the forest, each one they passed stabbed into by the large black feathers. Gon had carried Emma under her arm before stopping together with Killua under a cover, the black feathers grazing by their surroundings, and the howls of the Nevermore above them.

"Emma, here," Gon reaches his back, removing the strap from himself and handing her the rifle, as well as the Monster Tracker.

Emma retrieved both items with gratitude. "Thank you," she said, though having gained back her most effective weapon, her worries lies with Garou and his injured state, but then recalled. The tenacity he had at their first confrontation, the powerful punch he had endured from Gon, a punch she just witnessed launch a boulder far bigger than the boy to that monstrous ape, an attack that carried a heavy amount for a singular blow.

Yet Garou was able to stand right back up after such a blow, blood flowing from the mouth from internal damage, and still able to rip a tree from the ground, ran and pounce around with diligent speed she was amazed a human could do. An incredible endurance, a determination just as she had at her final stand against Lewis, which took everything in her not to fall back down, she couldn't even speak, barely enough strength to lift her pistol for the conclusive assault. A willful stubbornness that wore pain like an apron in order to press on, yet evident enough that he had a better hold of it than herself.

He might be able to stand against that ape monster, but she knew all too well the detriment of a broken limb, he will have to rely on his other arm and legs to fight, she wished she could have given him a weapon before he threw her aside, or give him her bow and arrows if she knew he could wield them. It was fruitless to think of this now, if Emma wishes to return and help, then she must hurry and defeat the Nevermore.

"I can get that giant bird's attention, if it comes down for me, we can ambush it," Emma offered. Gon and Killua paid her their attention. "But we have to hurry and get back. Garou's arm is broken, he might be able to handle that other monster by himself for a little while."

Killua frowned in thought, "That guy's tough, but if that's the case, then we better deal with this bird before that ape comes for us next," otherwise, they'll have to escape.

Gon looked at her in search for the certainty of her plan, "Are you sure you want to draw that bird monster in, Emma?"

She nodded firmly, "I can do it, but I'll need your help when and if it comes down."

The boys glanced at each other, a brief message exchanged between their looks and then an agreement. Gon accepted, "Okay, you can count on us."

"We'll take it by surprise from the side, just be sure to make a run for it anyway. And be careful with those feathers, get close to something for cover quick," Killua cautiously advised.

Another nod that made her messy orange hair bob, "I still have about two Net bullets left. If you guys can knock that bird monster down, I'll use it and it'll get tangled in it."

"Sounds good," Killua said, Gon agreed. "Alright, let's do this."

They separated then. Gon and Killua took a hiding spot somewhere in the trees, and Emma takes her position next to one, assuring her cover and open view of the flying Nevermore. The Grimm creature was circling their current placement in search of the little tykes, and with her rifle armed, she opened fire.

With careful aiming, bullets assault the bottom of the Nevermore and gaining its attention. A flap of its wings and it sends down several of its blade-feathers. She sprinted behind the trees, taking them as her barrier that prevents the feather from piercing all the way through, stuck into them as she hurriedly traverse to another spot, turned to the flying Nevermore and resumed firing.

The Nevermore suffered, and dove down for her. She remained firing and in the open, her nerves tough as steel even as the winged monster grew closer. At it's closing proximity, Emma ducks to another tree, and Killua emerges from the top of it. Tossing a yo-yo and slamming the heavy-ton weapon against the Nevermore's face. The Grimm's head reared back from the attack, and lost its momentum, tumbling to the ground.

"Now Emma!" Killua shouted at the girl as he pulled and retrieved his yo-yo.

Emma hurries to wield her four-barrel pistol, switching the barrel to cast Net. However, the Nevermore had quickly recovered, and flapped its wings immensely. A powerful force of gust that was braced by Emma, shutting her eyes in protection, but forcing one to peek through as she tries to hold up her pistol.

A hook was launched and grasped the edge of the Nevermore's white skull mask. "Take the shot!" Gon shouted with his armed fishing rod that startled the Nevermore at his great heave, jerking the Nevermore's head back.

The wings having briefly ceased, Emma points her pistol and pulls the trigger. The bullet launches and expels the net, it captures the right wing of the Nevermore and traps it against a tree. She quickly switches to her rifle,_ Now's their chance!_

But atlas, the Nevermore, who has the experience of a long life of survival in this valley of dangerous beasts, was a cunning creature. The Nevermore rolled itself around, further pulling along the hook line of Gon's fishing rod, a surprise but he remained footed on the tree branch.

The Nevermore grasped its talon feet against the tree just as Emma hurries and fires with her rifle, as a hail of bullets pierced its back, it lets out a screech, and pushed itself against the tree that had trapped down. Tearing it down, the stick substance of the Net was unrelenting, but with its strength, it yanked the tree right off.

"Whoa!" The fishing line reaching its limit, Gon was forcefully heaved by his rod. Emma immediately stopped shooting. Aghast in her eyes.

"Gon! Let go!" Killua yelled, but it was too late. The tree broke apart and became a bulky addition to the Nevermore's wing, the bird of darkness leapt and flapped its wings, a stumble in its rise, its wings even mightier than Gon's strength, and it takes to the air.

"GON!" Emma and Killua screamed out.

The Nevermore takes to the sky as Gon was pulled along by his rod. The Nevermore however did not fly so far up, spiraling in an attempt to remove the Net and the remains of the tree it broke free from.

Emma switches back to her pistol, "If he falls! I can catch him with my net!"

But the Nevermore was to wild in its flight pattern, she cannot find a secure aim, nor can she use her rifle or bow, she might hit Gon by mistake, and she does not want to risk making a decisive shot by using her Net again, or Gon may end up being tangled along the monster and if they fall, he could get crushed.

Killua quickly goes to her side, looking up for his friend with trepidation eyes that managed to keep its composure. "My yo-yo might be able to reach that monster. Gon should be able to handle his fall just fine but look out for him."

However, Gon had an idea of his own. As he was flung around by the desperate flight of the Nevermore, he calmly and determinedly reeled himself closer to the Nevermore, putting focus in his Nen and extending it to his rod, preventing from its immediate break that is strained by the pull of the Nevermore and his line from snapping. A hefty amount of effort that Gon inputs all of his strength into.

When the Nevermore ducked briefly and went back up, he was pulled along and with a great luck of timing, and his own intention, he landed upon the Nevermore's back.

"Perfect!" Digging his nails onto the Nevermore's back, latching onto it so not to fall. He releases one hand, inputting aura into his other so to keep himself from losing grip of the Nevermore.

Furious orange energy spiraled Gon's raised and clenched hand. **"Jan!"**

"Gon!" Emma cried out when she saw the boy on the Nevermore's back, she could barely make out what was happening. "What is he-?"

Realization widened Killua's eyes as he saw the familiar, and expanding orange glow. "Emma. Get back."

**"Ken!"**

Killua pulls Emma along by her hand, ignoring her confused asking as they moved away from underneath the Nevermore.

**"GUUUUUN!"**

Gon's fist slammed against the back of the Nevermore. With a pained caw, the Nevermore was force back down upon the ground and crashed upon the trees, pierced by the sharp points of it, but it still struggled furiously. Gon pushed himself off from the Nevermore and upon ground, he sprinted aside to avoid the flailing wings and body of the Nevermore, tangling itself in the net now utterly, and rendering its wings nearly useless.

Hails of bullets returned as Emma reemerges and saw Gon's distance enough for her to fire at the creature. Killua appears to the side, tossing another yo-yo and a yank of his string, striking the head of the Nevermore. The Nevermore was dazed, prompting him to send his second yo-yo and wrapping it around its neck.

Infusing his Nen, he send forth a trail of electric waves, sparking and travelling through the string of his yo-yo and shocking the monster with great power.

"Gon! Killua! Stand back!" Emma tells the other boys, setting aside her rifle and armoring her bow and special arrows, at the boys heeding her call with Killua retracting his yo-yo and Gon readying his next attack, but waiting on Emma's cue, she pulls the Enchanted Arrow and fires.

At the arrows pierce to the neck of the dazed and exhausted Grimm, a spew of flames engulfed its torso and lower beak, it tried to fly once more, but it was too heavily injured. "This is our chance!" She proclaims.

Hearing her, Gon rushed for the back. Exhausting a breath as a drip of sweat fell from his chin, Killua rushes to the side, his palm emitting another charged up energy. "Gon!"

"Got it!"

From the side of the Nevermore that wasn't spewing fire, he slammed another Lightning Palm against the the Nevermore, and above, Gon had leapt with a surge of Nen that propelled him from his feet, his fist swarmed with yet another glowing orange energy. **"Jan!** **Ken!"** He landed on the back of the Nevermore and rushed for the head, he throws his fist forward, **"GUUUUUUUUUN!"**

He punched the head of the Nevermore, a great power that shattered its mask apart, a reaction that instantly takes the light from its eyes. Gon forced his fist to push the head of the Nevermore into slamming against the ground, and drops to his feet back upon the ground, turning instantly.

The Nevermore's wings slumped, and laid there, moving no more with a slackened beak and its head hung against the dirt. The children eyed the creature cautiously, Gon taking the bold initiative and walked up the shattered masked Grimm, unfeeling of its breath. Killua joins alongside him, looking at the Nevermore cautiously.

"Did we do it?" Emma said quietly.

Killua carefully goes closer to the Nevermore, raising a hand and pressing his hand against the feathers in a slight push, as if to stir awake the creature, while prepping himself to bolt the minute that there was still a sign of life. When nothing came from his touch, he nodded at the other children, "Yeah. It's dead."

Gon releases another breath, leaning forward with hands resting upon his knees, "Thank goodness..."

Emma ran up to the boys, checking over the creature. They have done it, they were safe now. Indeed, thank goodness for that...

She suddenly startles at remembering something vital. Her experience of the last Grimm creature that had been killed, and what became of it later. "Gon! Killua! Hurry! We have to take a piece of it now!"

Gon and Killua looked over to her as Emma dashed for the body of the Nevermore, plucking a small fragment of its white bone mask from the ground, "The last monster that was just like this one disappeared soon after it was killed. Hurry and get a piece while it's still here!"

A reveal that surprised the boys, they immediately acted upon her word and collects a piece of its bone mask. At this moment, the Nevermore's body began to disappear and they backed away, watching as the enormous winged monster dissipates in black ashes. In their hands, the bone-mask fragments shone white and shrunk into a certain shape, and their gold stars was morphed. The Grimm continued to break apart, its pieces of itself fading in the wind until there was nothing left.

"With this monster dealt with," Emma turns back for the remaining monster in the area. "All that's left is that ape monster. Come on!"

A nod of compliance, the children hurried through the forest, where the howls of the Undead Yasha Ape shook the very leaves of the trees.

/.\

A series of powerful kicks were brought about by Garou, and yet said kicks were braced by the Undead Yasha Ape with the guard of his beefy arms covered in silver fur. However, it was evident enough that the monster was becoming weaker, having embraced its weakness of fire, the injury he received from his opponent's attack after stopping his fist from reaching the little girl, and the effects of the Banana Fish needle finally kicking in.

The Undead Yasha Ape was beginning to fatigue to the poison and all of its other injuries, but its mind was strong, refusing to give in to the mental-degradation. It swung its fist for Garou, but Garou quickly retreats, baring with the feeling of his broken arm while keeping his remaining perfectly functioning arm ready to strike. The beast is getting tired, he noticed. All he needs to do is break it down further, enough until he can land a good hit at the neck somehow-

A rock prodded his feet when he takes a step back and he offered a side-glance, a single glance then turned to a full-look and complete turn of his head, the audacity to do this in front of an enemy. The rock was actually a distinct shape of an arrow, with runes marked upon it. Was that-?

The Undead Yasha ape lunged for Garou. The Hero Hunter cleanly kicked up the arrow with the back of his heel and grasped it quickly, retreating back further and rounding the ape monster to the back. He side-examined the arrow, "Wonder if this is the thing that girl was talking about."

Well. One way to find out.

The Undead Yasha turns and started its sprint for the fast-footed human. In a bold, and unprecedented move for the Undead Yasha Ape, Garou sprung forward, ducking himself, and then short forward his left arm with the arrow in his fingers that pointed for the monster. The ape instinctively blocked his neck, but Garou was not aiming for it, however, it did confirm that indeed, that place was something the beast did not want to be hit at. _Kid was right. That neck is special, which means I got to give it everything to hit it._

With a push of his fingers and a quick thrust of his left arm, he jabbed his fingers and the arrow into the nose of the Undead Yasha Ape and backed away at once. Blood spilled from the Undead Yasha Ape from his attack, and then, flames.

The entire head of the ape monster was engulfed by a furious red orange blaze, swallowing every bit of fur and burning its flesh charred black, his eyes shadowed and his jaw wide open with an utter screech of pain.

_No hard feelings,_ offered pity the Hero Hunter. Now is his chance. Garou sprung back in, his left hand thrown once more but this time with a curved swing, his fingers together, a sharpness at the tip like a blade. _I'll make this quick-!_

His eyes sharp with intent suddenly gawked. A violent lurch of his stomach and his hand immediately drops before he could inflict his strike at the screaming ape, and clutched his stomach as if acid was tossed, and within seconds, not just his stomach, but the rest of his body screamed. "What-! The hell-! Is this-?!"

The screaming ape wildly patted his head as if punching it to die out the flames. Garou's knees wobbled in resistance to keep himself from standing until they could not hold any longer, and he drops. An audible gasp and a sudden break out of his sweats. His left hand grasping his agonizing stomach, his right arm with its pain seemingly nothing now as the hand grips the ground tight enough to crack under its pressure.

_**Nen** is a life energy all life-forms possess, and the ways to uncover a person's capability to use Nen are done through several methods. Three ways have been mostly utilize. One: mediation, concentrating one's mind and body to manipulate one's life-energy, the safest form of unlocking Nen, but the process is long and takes dedication. Two: Initiation, the process of forcing one's "Aura Nodes" to open, a much more dangerous method as the aura unleashed will be extensive and rapid, and the person would risk immediate exhaustion that could lead to death from the great expelling of their life-energy until they can control its outburst flow._

_Three: physical contact from a Nen-based attack, the most dangerous method. If the person survives from a Nen-infused strike, the body endured will suffer a trauma from the attack, and the "Aura Nodes" will be forced open. The person will suffer immense pain from the trauma until eventually..._

A white glow emits from the body of Garou as he held back the urge to bellow from this pain.

_Their Nen will unlock._

But Garou's will was disturbingly strong. So much so that he continues to beat down this abnormally strange and immense pain in his gut. The white glow on his body was yanked back down into his skin by his will alone, refusing to give this phenomenon that he has yet to understand.

A tight grasp of his ankle in the midst of his biting-back pain, and Garou was yanked from the ground.

Mind boggled with this sheer discomfort of a stomach ache, he still had some comprehension, and could only think, _Oh crap-_

Maddened by the insufferable pain as the last bit of fire finally dies out, thrown over the ape's face by the dirt from the ground the monster buried its head in, the Undead Yasha Ape screamed in total fury, pulling Garou's ankle and lifting the dark hunter over the monster's self, and swung him back down. A slam that broke the ground, a loud grunt through the clenched teeth of Garou as his back suffered, the Undead Yasha Ape slammed Garou against the ground again and again, and again.

At one final slam, Garou's mind was dazed, but he still moved to get up, a struggle that made his whole body twitched that he barely even rises from his back. And then he saw the two fists of the ape, and he found himself unable to move enough.

A beat down of the angry monster ape's fist while the monster screamed all the way through. The ground shook, cracking under the pressure of each unrelenting and unmerciful hits that buried the body of Garou and pushing him further into the earth.

Emma, Gon and Killua arrived, they looked upon the scene, and were wide-eyed in shock with a gasp. As if Emma's fears could not be confirmed, the Undead Yasha Ape broke that false comfort in shattering sessions. The ape monster relented his beat down, reached down and grabbed through the pound-in huge indent of the earth it made, and yanked the body over his shoulders, and threw Garou to the side of the cave entrance, where he crashed through and disappeared in a cloud of dust and crumbled rocks.

"GAROU!" Emma screamed in horror. Such a beat down from such a strong and angry beast. _No human could live through that_, said the little part of her mind, and even if he were, even as she would hope, from that beat down, his whole body must be absolutely shattered beyond repair - _beyond saving._

Gon shouted, "Guys! Get back!"

The children quickly moved out of the way when the Undead Yasha Ape started banging against the ground, punching through the boulders and tossing them everywhere without a clear target. Rampaging. It takes two halves of the boulder it punched and broke, and then tosses them at the same time.

Gon leapt forward, dodging the first boulder in time. At the second one, he stood his ground, revving up strength in his arm, and threw forward a punch. The thrown boulder was shattered on impact.

And what appeared was the furious gaze of the bloodied face ape.

"GON!" Killua reacted without thought, tossing both yo-yos for the back of the Undead Yasha Ape's head. The yo-yo reaches the beast's head, bu in a shocking twist, the beast without even turning around, threw back his hands behind his head, and grasped the yo-yo in immediate catch.

"Wha-?!" Killua was in disbelief.

The Undead Yasha Ape was forced forward by the force of the yo-yos, with a howl of feeling the weighted pounds of the yo-yo, but angered beyond acknowledging any pain. He tightly grasped the yo-yos and pulls them over with a fast swipe.

Killua was yanked from his position and over the head of the ape beast. He immediately releases his hold of the string by slipping his fingers out from the rings but the momentum of himself being thrown could not be adapted in time. Gon was shocked at the sudden sight of Killua, and braced the other boy as the ex-assassin slammed into the young hunter, and barreling them into the forest.

"GON! KILLUA!" Emma acted fast, pulling over her rifle with a fierce gaze, she started firing at the beast. What would normally graze the skin of such a terrifying monster, her bullets meant to kill demons pierced the flesh of the ape, and it only drove the beast mad.

Raising both fists, the Undead Yasha Ape brought them back down with an incredible heave, and punched the ground. The aftershock sends a ripple-like effect of the ground and Emma lost her balance. Falling on her back with her rifle by her side, she looked at the beast who then, with all terrible intent, rushes for her.

With a daring and quick-minded reaction, Emma gets up and ducks under the thrown punch of the Undead Yasha Ape, but it was much faster than she anticipated and she stumbled. The ape turned abruptly, its head reared for her, and its mouth opened, teeth barred with a wild scream as they grew closer and closer, to bite off the head of the little girl.

Her eyes then broke to terror, and the imminent death that awaits before her. But she knew inside to act, to do something at once. Anything. _Anything!_

Without the time spared to consider the consequences, with the face of the Undead Yasha Ape right there before her, she toss up her foot, and kicked the ape right at the chin.

_Garou dropped to his side... both hands grasping the ground and digging his fingers deep into the dirt... He threw his foot up._

A memory of his movements that she witnessed against Gon and Killua, the child genius reconstructed that scenario with her body the map of those movements, and tossed a second kick underneath the chin of the ape monster with all her might.

The Undead Yasha Ape was unmoved, but he did froze. His red eyes widened in surprise, and though Emma's toes hurt, she saw her chance and kicked off to a stand and run. Her rifle had been abandoned when she moved to dodge, she quickly grasped for her bow and arrows and aimed.

The Undead Yasha Ape was still unmoved.

His sudden pause an odd sight, Emma looked on confused, holding her arrow by the string it was already pulled. She observed the monster carefully,_ why... is it just standing there?_

The expression of the ape had changed, a lost look about him. No, it was as if, he was thinking, remembering...

A boy with bright orange-red hair. The fight that he had with that human of a determined soul, a strong body, and a gentle heart. The fight that met the ape's first defeat, the fight that befriended his first human.

"Emma!"

Gon and Killua rushed out. The Undead Yasha Ape blinked back to awareness. The boys reached to Emma and quickly goes in defense, standing in front of her. But they were unaware. Emma's confused eyes looking back at the ape's long gaze.

A fist to the face, the ape recalled. A kick to the chin, he remembered. And then there was... there was...

Ah. Yes, of course. _That_ happened too.

The Undead Yasha Ape lifted his finger and touched his face, pressing up to his cheek.

And he jabbed his fingers into his left eye.

The children were startled. They witnessed in lack of comprehension as the ape pulled out his own eye, ripping it out until he held it in front of himself, then tossed it into his mouth and chews.

There was no sanity to this action. Perhaps the Banana Fish Needle had indeed compromised his state of mind. Perhaps the ape was aware of his own already lost sanity. But he still recalled. The defeat at the hands of the human whom he acknowledged out of every other human who had challenged him, at their second match when his eye was jabbed into as that boy's first move. He will never forget.

_Come._

The ape swallowed, and when down the piece of himself goes, he takes an intake of a deep breath, and screeched the loudest roar to the very last air of his lungs. The children winced at his terror-resounding yell, and backed away in fright when the beast raises his arms again.

_Let us have our bout, one last time._

The ape pushes his fists against the ground and launches himself. The sight of the confused-riddled face of the children's widened eyes, he screams.

_Come, and I may find peace._

Snap!

The world was suddenly turned over.

In the view of the Undead Yasha Ape's, the turned faces of the shocked expressed children as he felt an abrupt loss of control to most of his body, halting him in place.

Garou sat above the shoulders of the unknowing ape, his arms spread out from his sides, his hand grasped each side of the Undead Yasha Ape's head that was abruptly twisted around, an instant sound from the neck and the befuddled face upside down.

Garou had better days.

His stomach was in unbearable pain, because of said pain he did not get enough sleep last night, his right arm broken to near unsuitability, and he missed breakfast.

Garou had better days.

But it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

A swift cut of the ear from the side of the Undead Yasha Ape's head and he catches it. The beast was so lost in his confusion and mind it did not even register the pain, Garou grasped the head with both hands, forcing his broken arm to follow his demands, and with a gripping, fierce and vengeful roar through his baring clenched teeth. He pulled the head of the beast, the rotten flesh of the monster's neck ripping along the scar line, and he tore off the head from the shoulders.

The body of the Undead Yasha Ape stood in place, its head held above it by the champion of this hunt, they steadily fell back, and toppled to the ground. Garou quickly lets go of the head and catches himself by landing on his good hand, and brought down his feet in a kneel.

The children and he watched the body of the ape monster for a moment. Waiting for it to come back up at any second. But nothing came of it. The body of the undead lay there motionlessly. It was done.

They have won.

Emma looked at the beast's body for another moment longer, wondering what caused it to suddenly hesitate like that, but her mind for that went as soon as she saw Garou and she ran around the boys to reach the older teen. "Are you okay?!"

Garou gives a deep breath out, gasping for a moment before silencing his exhaustion at the approach of the girl. He offered her brief attention, and then looks down at what was in his hand.

The ear of the Undead Yasha Ape. It soon glowed white, and like the others, it transformed into a small gold star.

Fifth Star Point Achieved.

"You got it," Emma stated, she lets out a little smile. "Your fifth star."

He looked at the star for another moment with a blink, and then inserts it inside his pocket along with the rest of his stars and patch. "Mm," he said. "Guess you're off the hook for now."

Her face wavered at that in innocent understanding, and the smile returns. Gon and Killua looked to each other, a heavy sigh of relief.

"We did it... We got our fifth star..." Gon started, and his eyes shone, "We got our fifth star...? We did! We did it, Killua! We all finally got our fifth star!"

Killua nodded at his best friend's repeat as if to grasp that absolute understanding, a smile breaking through. "Yeah. What a relief. I guess now, all that's left is..."

A sudden chill runs up their spines, theirs, and Emma and Garou's. They heard rummaging through the cave and turned to look.

Several red eyes glows from the darkness of the cave, the carriers stepping out into the sun. The skeletal bodies of many, many apes, all growling with vehemence. The previous line of what was once the Apes of Yasha Craig.

* * *

**A/N: I will now be responding to reviews. By the way! I forgot to include an answer in the last chapter, I already PM an answer to the reviewer but this is just in case anyone else is wondering the same thing.**

**The Devil Serpent that was presented two chapters ago was a Large Devil Serpent, or the Demon-Devil Serpent according to the anime (as redundant of a name it was), but in manga it's generally known as a Large Devil Serpent.**

**We've seen how Toriko and Coco defeated the first Devil Serpent, but that was actually a small one, there was a much Larger one that Komatsu came across in that cave they were all in. We've never actually seen how Toriko and Coco would have dealt with this larger creature until the Knocking Master himself came to the picture, demonstrating his strength as leagues above Toriko and Coco.**

**Toriko and Coco were of course holding back against the first Devil Serpent so to collect its meat, but even for a small one which was the one Garou first came across with in his debut chapter of this story, it was a relatively tough opponent. ****It's also noted that after that arc in the manga, the next Large Devil Serpent was seen at the arena where Toriko met the Battlewolf. The Large Devil Serpent was on a rampage and Toriko faced against it, but he was having a tough time due to the Battle Fragrance the Devil Serpent endured which made it stronger.**

**I****t took the Battlewolf clone (Rest in peace Mama Wolf), to defeat the rampaging Large Devil Serpent in a single attack AFTER having just given birth to the baby Battlewolf, which demonstrates her strength to be leagues above Toriko's or the monsters of the Human World in general.**

**Emma's group was just lucky to not come across a Devil Serpent from the Gourmet World, which in this story, is hiding at the low, low, lower levels of Beast Valley, think _Made in Abyss_ kinds of levels. Devil Serpents from the Gourmet World are far, far stronger than the Devil Serpents from the Human World. Those from the Human World, I imagine, are not Elder Centipede level though, since Elder Centipede can fly and is a lot more durable than the Devil Serpent.**

**Chimera Ants like the King's ****Bodyguards****; Pitou, Pouf, and Youpi, could probably handle the likes of the Devil Serpent with Pitou and Pouf's intelligence and Youpi's raw strength and durability, though they might also be aware of its savage nature. Meruem would have no problems, that or I might just be ****over-hyping**** him.**

**Garou was just surprised by the size and wild nature of it but I might go back and adjust that reaction, and Gon and Killua hadn't quite crossed monsters of that size except maybe on Greed Island, which even then, those monsters were meant to train Gon, not kill him. The kind of ****blood-lust**** the Large Devil Serpent definitely took them by surprise, with Gon having a habit of briefly freezing under the gaze of a strong creature like the Zoldyck family guard dog and Pitou as well.**

**Emma has the most experience in fighting creatures bigger than herself but even she was scared by the Intimidation aura the Large Devil Serpent showed before she would force herself to gather her bearings and fight. ****So, yeah, Devil Serpents are pretty tough, especially the Large ones. But once Garou got used to it he pretty much dealt against the Devil Serpent fairly well, he'd be a decent Gourmet Hunter, though the power level standards of Toriko's world are seriously something to compare to OPM (unless you're Saitama or Goku, it be paradise for Goku especially. XD)**

_Maxim__7_:** Yes, this story will be a slow-burn and I can understand why people will be put off by that. ****Evidently****, I had somewhat of a ****coherent**** plan before I decided that it would take too long and cut down some sections and get the story moving. What I am intending to do is complete this beginning arc of the Preliminary Round and then leave the story to settle and cool for a few weeks perhaps. I wish to make every moment I write in each chapter to take its time but I also wish to get to the exciting parts quickly without rushing too much.**

**After the Preliminary, hopefully I can calm down and write the story in a comfortable pace. I should also work on making the chapters shorter, as writing long chapters tend to drain me of writing energy. With my desire to show everything in one go, I always end up writing longer chapters than I actually intended to and constantly overestimate how much is being written. So, next time, I shall be taking my time and write only shorter chapters, limited amount would be up to 5 thousand to around 10 thousand words... If that's any shorter.**

**As I'm already this far ahead I think I'll leave the chapters I have already uploaded as it is, will likely go back and edit a few things but perhaps not add in chapters, I have made my due now I must live and learn from it. This should also help me feel less strain in writing out so many words. I should just take a deep breath and take my time, not to expand it so much, and that way any reader will not feel tired after reading such long chapters.**

**Thank you again for you review. It means so much to me as a writer still in practice.**


	12. Closing Date, Fly Pegasus!

Chapter 12: Closing Date, Fly Pegasus!

They ran for their lives.

Garou takes the lead, sprinting through the rough forest terrain. Emma over his shoulder with Gon and Killua rushing after him. Several bullets were fired from her rifle, as their pursuers screamed viciously in monstrous savagery, avenge-driven by the complete defeat of their fallen ape fellow. The skeletal gorilla-like figures, much more massive than the average gorilla as had been the Undead Yasha Ape, rattled like bone-drums as they rampaged across the areas in a herd.

The skeleton apes braced through her fired bullets, their bones far tougher than the rotting flesh of the first ape. These opponents will not be any easier than the already tough opponent that was the Undead Yasha Ape, and granted that it was their fellow that they killed, they will certainly won't be kind to the humans.

"Gon! The card!" Killua shouted after his friends. To fight such a large number of monsters that may be as strong and reactive as the Undead Yasha Ape, Killua doesn't want to try his or all of their luck, and besides, there's no need to overstay their welcome here now that each of them have their five stars. It was time they leave this place.

"Right!" Gon reaches into his pocket and takes out the card, raising it up high. "Everyone! Stay close!"

Garou side-glances the boy, ears adjusting to the rapid bullet-fire from Emma's rifle. He held her over his shoulder and keeping her there with his broken arm, done so by forced while his other arms swung forward and back as he sprinted ahead a feet from the boys. He was purposefully keeping to this speed so that he would be close when they do use that card to get them out of here.

He really doesn't think, nor should he, push himself beyond his already injured state, broken arm and having tanked the beating of the Undead Yasha Ape. Fighting all those apes of skeletons at once? Probably equal in strength, likely even stronger than the rotting ape? Now that's just pushing it. He had a worse beating from his own master but that doesn't mean he wasn't gonna push himself this far. "That card better do the trick-"

A sudden sharp drop and Garou with Emma disappeared into the ground. Gon and Killua skidded to a halt and looked over where Garou and Emma went, and discovered a long, long cliff hiding behind the bushes beyond, where they see the silver hair and orange hair fall in a slide down across the steep. "Emma! Garou!" Gon shouted. Killua's head whipped behind and he ushered urgently.

"Come on! We'll meet them down" Killua started sprinting once more, following down the path that lead below where the cliff leads. Gon looks at the closing skeletal apes and quickly catches up to Killua.

Emma yelled as she felt a sudden drop and pulled towards Garou as they fell down the side of a long cliff. His feet drags against gravel until he makes a leap, meters down, he lands easily. Emma was again marveled by his capable feats, even more so after he had just endured that vicious beating, it left her in awe that he could get back up after that and still move as much as he can, but obvious enough that it has taken a toll on him along with his broken arm.

She glances up and saw Gon and Killua racing down the path for her and Garou, and behind the boys, the skeletal apes who gives chase - all four of the competitors, half of the monsters jumping from the cliff for Garou and Emma without pause. A couple of them traveling across the ledge and the cliff down-path, gripping at it and leaping off for each fleeing duo.

With biting teeth, Garou resumed forward with a greater speed, intent to cross with the boys. "Garou! Above you!"

A giant round boulder the size of a full-grown elephant, tossed by the joined effort of a few skeletal Yasha Apes, descended upon them. Garou sprinted to the side, the boulder crashing between him and Emma, and the young Hunters on the other side, and started to roll down the cliff.

"Emma!" Gon yelled out, as another big boulder was tossed his and Killua's way. Killua cursed in his breath and they sprinted and moved to avoid the falling boulder that smashed on impact against the path.

An aggravated breath, Garou launched himself with a strong push of his feet against the ground, the giant boulder rolling pass behind him and Emma watching it go with wide eyes before glancing at the chasing skeletal apes. She witnessed one ape grabbing hold of another and then-

"Look out!" She warned him as he looked back to see what it was. The skeletal apes spun his fellow monster and tossed it towards them, the monster screeching with terrifying howls as it was thrown for them.

Garou kicked off to the right, narrowly missing its savage grab that would have pummeled him and crushed Emma with ease._ Dammit, where did those brats go? _He's lost sight of them since that giant boulder came down. Well that wasn't good. Without being near those boys, they won't be able to escape this place together. _Better hurry and catch up to those brats!_

He speeds up in hopes to intercept those boys. "NOT THAT WAY!"

Emma's sudden screaming had him halt immediately, the tip of his toes barely remaining before the edge, the wind of the valley brisking touching through their forms as they see nothing but darkness below, and the rest of the canyon right before them. "Whoa. That was close," He breathed out with surprised eyes. He craned his head back to see the girl over his shoulder, "How did you-?"

"Gon gave me back the tracker!" Emma showed the device held in her hand and its working map. "I can lead us to Gon and Killua. Hurry! The monsters right behind us!"

Her warning came just as the skeletal apes reemerges, and Garou flee along the edge, he made a daring jump, dropping below the valley wall and landing up a ledge, leaping to the next, the fear of the dark depths long below them unwavering in his and Emma's nerves. To use the device, Emma has to rescind using her rifle in order to guide Garou, which was for the best anyhow, as it seems even with her demon-piercing bullets, the skeletal apes were truly tough creatures.

"Go up!"

Garou heard her and did as she directed, her being his only guide through the wilds. He reaches back upon the valley, returning to the forest area and sprinted ahead. The skeletal apes were giving a fierce chase, actually matching Garou's accomplishment in leaping and climbing alongside the valley wall, but they were not as fast, much to their advantage lead.

"Go left! There's a monster ahead!"

Garou had just heard her when he spotted the white-bone creature who yelled viciously after him, he reacted at once and dodged the apes attempted throttle of both its swung fists and resumed forward. If there were skeletal apes here, then this must be where they chased Gon and Killua, they can't be too far.

"Run to the right! Now left! There's another cliff up ahead but there's a path you can take! Watch out! There's several monsters in this forest!" Emma instructed him diligently, eyes never leaving the map even as she hears the furious wilds of not just the skeletal apes but other existing beasts in the forest. But in thanks to her monster tracker, they could avoid not only difficult terrains easily maneuverable for Garou if he is warned of them beforehand, but also avoiding monsters.

They exited out of the forest and onto an open space of meshed grass and dirt, a wall-side of the cliff in front of them. Garou ran up the cliff-side in a wall-sprint, his feet climbing the steepness without the use of his hands.

"Monsters up ahead!"

Emma's warning had Garou stopped right upon the side of the wall, feet instantly and sharply dug into the exterior as above them, skeletal monsters arrive, passing by them at first for what they knew right away, in search of those two young Hunters. One of the skeletal apes, however, looked down and noticed them, then shouted for his comrades attention.

Garou clicked his tongue behind his teeth. With a stomp against the ground, he launched himself down to the side and ran with all of his might, his legs and working on rushing back and forth while his broken one remained holding onto Emma. A sight of the skeletal apes coming out from the forests on each side, but her focus remained determinedly on the tracker, and for a near instant moment, Garou had taken a lead ahead, the skeletal apes left far behind. They might just escape them.

Her eyes widened at the screen of the tracker, "We're heading for a dead-end!"

Startled eyes, Garou abruptly stopped in his tracks as soon as he heard that, but he had already arrived just as her warning was delivered. He figured another wall-run would do, but looking at the issue up front, it would not be that simple.

It was much more than a dead end, it was the entire mountain-side. Blocked by nothing but it's wall of stones, and up above where a mist of clouds actually formed, flesh-eating monsters with wings fought over the half-eaten body of another creature - even among monsters, there was always the need to compete.

A sharp jolt attacked his stomach that numbed throughout his body again and he fought the urge to clutch it.

"This ain't good," he looked back where the skeletal apes are sure to arrive soon, hearing their ravaged howls. They stood in between valleys as well, where the tip of it is certainly possible for him to reach for, but he will have to face those winged man-consuming birds, and there were a lot of them. In front of the valley to his left though, was a small forest, was there something that might lead them through the valley? Or would they only corner themselves further?

"There might be something in that forest," Emma held the same idea as Garou, looking at the screen of her tracker with calm intensity, "I don't see anything right now, no monsters except for the one above us and the one far behind us, but there might be a path or a cave."

The forest might also serve as a decent hiding spot, but that was risky, for if the skeletal apes were intelligent and in great numbers, the forest will be searched and swarmed, and if there is no path, they will be forced to face the army of skeletal apes.

Garou had the same understanding. Turn back, and all they will meet were those angry family of gorilla skeletons, wall-running up and the issue is just the same but with flying enemies, try the in between and he might just risk getting both parties attention and that would be the worst thing to happen. He was already in a bad state, and if he were to suffer another gut-aneurysm, he'll be at the skeletal ape's biting end.

There was also the fact that their only guide through this canyon was the girl and her tracker. If the case was that they don't find Gon and Killua, then her tracker is their next bet of finding their way of escape from this place, even if he could fight his way against those beasts, he needed that guidance to get out of Beast Valley. And if she and that tracker were to be crushed by the fists of those skeletal apes, or picked off like that Nevermore had done, then kill her and break the device, they'll be completely screwed.

"Go check it out then."

A startled yelp from Emma as he easily heaved her from his shoulder, and tossed her to the forest. She tumbled briefly before quickly getting to her knees, looking up at Garou who turned away, facing the path where they have run from, where the crowded howls of the skeletal beasts reach closer. "You only got a minute, that's as long as I can keep them busy."

She stared up at him, wordless and comprehension in her amazed eyes. Seeing that gaze at the corner of his own, he sharply turned his head for her with an affirmed look and pointed, "I'm not doing this for you. I'm just making sure you don't die while you still have that tracker. It's the only thing we have that can help us find your friends, or get us out of this mountain. One minute is all you're getting, so you better hurry. Either we find a path, climb that wall and fight those giant birds, or go through these skeletons head-on."

She regarded him in stunned silence for a brief few seconds, a new sort of impression in her widened green eyes. If she thinks to refute, he'll just toss her in the forest, he doesn't due well with distractions even if he would allow her to grant him distant support. However, she closed her mouth and her eyes became firm. An understanding of their situation and the little time they have now quickly picked herself up, and she sprinted into the forest.

Garou watched her run between the trees until she was out of sight, and then he faced the arriving flesh-less beasts. A deep breath intake as he could not close the fingers of his broken limb, he exhales and his body relaxes of all tensions, and entering a hands with flowing hands, and the brute fierceness that streamed from his gilded eyes, as the group of skeleton apes arrived in a growl and heated rumble of the ground they stood upon.

/.\

A leap over a small boulder with the push of her hands at its top, Emma hurries through the forest with all her efforts. One minute was all he could give, it was too much for someone who is hurt beyond her own understanding to deal with all those beasts by himself. And yet, he had endured that hit from the Nevermore the first it had arrived at that secret garden, endured the pummeling of the Undead Yasha Ape, and yet came back to twist and rip its head off with his hands - with a broken arm at that.

Emma had already figured him strong, but he was _really_ strong! It was incredible just how tough other participants of this competition could really be, and for that, she truly believed in his strength. But she has to hurry, for him to give a time limit, he really didn't want to fight while in that state, so she has to investigate and find something, then get back to him. If there was nothing here, then they will have no choice but to fight through those monsters and either go up the valley wall, or through the skeletal apes.

She could hear and detected the presence of the skeletal apes, but quickly detected as they were at the corner of the tracking map until they retreated back out, towards something that had their attention.

_I'll look for it. I'll be quick. Just hang in there! _Her thoughts to Garou.

She has to hurry and confirm, to find any escape path to separate themselves from the skeletal apes. Stopping at the valley wall, she looked to her screen and moved her tracker all around, examining the area the map could reach. Something... Something! She has to find-!

A reveal of a line through the valley wall. As soon as she sees it, her heart jumped with hope and she runs to it, rummaging through bushes until she finds a cave, not particularly large one, but it was enough for her and Garou to fit through. "I found it!"

Glancing up where bird monster were flying overhead, but high enough that they weren't even aware of the girl, Emma then enters the cave for further examination. No monsters detected in her tracker, and it seems to extend all the way through the valley.

This was it. A way through! Whether it might lead them back on track to find Gon and Killua, or a way out of Beast Valley, it was a path to take and flee from the monsters neither of them were well-equipped or prepared to face against in this merciless terrain of thousands of other powerful beasts. She then goes back out of the cave, and sprinted for Garou. Taking his word to heart, that he will grant her the time enough to remain alive until she reaches him.

He had entrusted her to find a path, not implying if she would leave him, and threatened to go after her, perhaps that was the intention of his time-limit. If she took too long, he would look for her. He even stated that he wasn't keeping her safe, it was a motive of uses they provided each other, himself the muscles, and herself the guide.

She knew this exchange of uses between two complying people, it had been done with Krone, and yet Emma knew to suspect the woman, for she was a worker of the farms - a Sister, in line to be the next potential Mama that will raise children to be slaughtered, she had been in it for herself. But...

Although it was obvious that Garou had insinuated his own self-interests, he had broken his arm that kept the Undead Yasha Ape's strike from reaching her. Even Krone was likely to not go that far, unless of course, it was to protect the "products." But allowing himself to be the main target that will distract the skeletal apes from entering the forest and finding her, to do that much even when it held purpose, it left him be at risk of the bitter end of the deal and _he_ was the one who offered it.

Even if he acts, shows, and tells her otherwise, not even putting up a facade that would feign kindness to lower her guard. He was... honestly weird. A crass young man that made her feel no intentional threat from.

_He never really fought us like he wanted to kill us_, she remembered Gon's words and experience against that vicious fighter. For him to tell that much about him as well, than her own suspicions have been confirmed, and it wasn't just her.

More than how he seems.

To have spared her from a strike he did not connect, that look he had after her statement that bemused him, the affection those little critters showed him and one he had shown to that grey wolf-pup, the very same critters he told her to lead away from the danger of the invading Nevermore, and various other little things she took notice of.

Those qualities carried by the young man that had terrified her into frozen, shivering silence, and sacrificed the arm that protected her.

_I think he might actually be a nice person._

She held onto these thoughts as she rushes back for where the sounds of brawling, intensity and savagery, can be heard.

/.\

A crowd of skeletal apes, maybe twenty, maybe more, together as they tried grasping for the fleeting dark figure. He threw a sharp left punch straight into the bone face of one of the apes, it instantly cracked under his fists and he backed away in time before the ape lunged for him in retaliation, screaming through it's practically crushed face and broken teeth.

He backed away until his back hits a tree, and as soon as he felt it, he twist his body around, grabbed the tree with his one unbroken arm, and throwing a kick at the end of the log, an instant sever strike and he breaks the tree from its stump, then swung it like a bat, slamming a couple of skeletal apes and knocking them back. He jumped then, with the tree still held in his arm and supported barely by his injured limb that forced its grip, and swung it down to the ground, hitting one ape directly and causing the others to be forced away by the powerful slam.

The tree broke in half from the impact and he lost his grip of it. Landing easily, but a sudden exhaust of his stamina as he tries to keep his focus clear.

"Damn..." He huffed, hand over his complaining stomach. The skeletal apes began to slowly approach him. These were especially tough customers, might be tougher than that zombie ape, and there are a numerous of these monsters. If he keeps himself at this distance though, he should be able to handle them-

A sudden loud tear of the ground as he saw another tree be lifted in his peripherals. One of the skeletal apes that were coming to his side had performed the same move as Garou, with its tremendous strength, it swung its own tree for the wide-eyed Garou. He quickly reacted and jumped high, avoiding the swing.

_So much for keeping a distance, _he thinks to himself, _Fine, then I'll just hit it before it comes at me again!_

As soon as he came back down, he launches himself for the ape skeleton.

-!

However, facing him was a second ape skeleton behind its tree-swinging brethren, and as soon as Garou came, it threw a punch with a howling screech. Garou, instinctively, and knowing the better end of it - no matter the pain it will promise - he blocked the punch with his injured arm, the bones in his arm suffering further fracturing, and he was forced back by over a dozen feet and slamming against outline of the forest, crashing through the wood that it has, and trees falling over.

The pain of his broken arm was intense, but he was visibly unfazed, refusing to grant these creatures the pleasure of seeing it, but a cringe escaped his twitching eye as he felt the need to double-over. He forces in a deep breath and exhales as he stands up and watches as the group of skeletal apes begin to surround him, steadily, as they acknowledge the human before him was no weakling - they held much intelligence to understand this.

Garou looked down at his completely crooked looking arm. He grabs it, clenches it tight in his palm and fingers, and with a sharp sound of a few snaps from his mere movements and a lack of reaction, he adjust the bone back into place, though it was still shattered, it was much straighter now.

"Hear that? That's the kind of sounds you piles of bones are gonna make," he grinned widely, wildly and deranged, "and I'm going to make every one of you break for me."

The skeletal Yasha Apes growled at his threat, and together, they charged for him. Garou prepares himself for all of them, ready to retaliate, strike, do all that he can, until time runs out, and he might hope that the little girl would find something of an escape.

He probably should have been more thoughtful of his decision to let her off on her own, if she did find a path, it wouldn't be surprising if she left him here on his own, but it was either that he risked getting that tracker destroyed, or they might be able to get out of beast valley with a couple of bruises and broken bones, but alive would be the best thing.

Plus, he could always catch up to her if she does decide to bail, and by the last second, he'll go and see if she was still around, and if she was and there was no path, then they really will have to fight through all these skeleton beasts, else, climb up the valley wall where the same threat awaits with winged monsters.

"Garou!"

He heard the call shouted behind him and his wild eagerness drops. He whipped his head around and found the sight of the orange hair girl running towards him.

She stopped abruptly and showed the pointed pistol in her hand. "Cover your eyes!"

Reacting, he moved to the side, but then noticed that her pointed pistol was actually aiming for the skeletal apes. She pulled the trigger, and at the bullets firing, Garou's hand reaches up as he watches the bullet fly pass, and over the heads of the skeletal apes.

The bullet broke apart, and at the instant of a white spark escaping, Garou's hand picks up in front of his eyes, and nothing but white blindness covered the area. He hears the bellowing roar and screams of confusion from the skeletal apes. Suddenly, this flash of light that which he was able to block most of and prevent himself from total blindness, this flash of light was familiar, like...

Like the lightning that distracted that man with the deadly touch, and granted Garou the chance to escape and recuperate. Taken aback in realization, he glances back at the girl, _Was she the one who-?_

"Hurry!" He heard Emma, and could see her with her eyes shut and covering them with her arm, "I found a cave! It might be a way out!"

Hearing that bit of good news, his back against the light, Garou dashed for her. He briskly picked Emma up and ran into the forest as the wild rampage behind them sounded loudly, looking for the sole opponent who had already began to flee, but could not tell, nor recognize their own as they began to pummel each other out of instinct and uncertainty blindingly.

Emma wordily guides Garou to the place of cave as their eyes adjust for having saved their vision from the direct impact of her Flash bullet. They then came upon the cave, and without a moment to lose, Garou enters it, holding the girl against his shoulder, the glow of the screen from Emma's tracker their only source through the immediate darkness of the long cavern tunnel.

"Just keep going straight!" Emma said, eyes on the screen, "We're coming to an exit!"

He carried on with unrelenting fast steps, and they spotted a light ahead. They exited the other end of the cave, arriving at the other side of the valley wall, resumed through a new forest. It was evident enough, however, that they were still in Beast Valley, with all the unique creatures still around, and Emma confirming this by looking at her map. "Monsters all around us. I hope Gon and Killua are okay..."

Garou stopped suddenly, looking at their surroundings, and then up to the tall trees. "Let's get a better view. Maybe we might see those brats somewhere."

"You can call them by their names you know..."

He ignored her and goes up to one of the trees, jumping one to the next and back and forth, as leverage to kick off until he reached the top. Rummaging through the leaves, a clear view of the area around them and they looked. "You see anything kid?"

"No... Wait! Over there!" Emma pointed up to the valley wall where they had just left. A few distance away, they spotted two familiar short figures sprinting and leaping down the wall as a group of skeletal apes gives chase, as fluent and quick in their movements among the rough jagged terrain as they screech for Gon and Killua.

Garou immediately started his over to the boys, tree to tree, and watched as the distant boys reached the bottom. He saw, however, Gon turn abruptly, and from what he can see as he draw closer, the boy's fist was revved to his side, a faint glow of his power-

"Whoa hold on, is he-?!"

Gon slammed his fist into the valley wall. An enormous crater built from his punch that cracked, and cracked the section of the valley wall, a tremor in the earth, and the fall of debris, and then more.

"That crazy little-!" Garou looked on in disbelief with the awe-struck Emma in his arm. They watched as several broke-lines that cracked the wall traveled up to the top in sharp instances, and a fall of an enormous partial of the wall fell, raining down in a slide over the numerous skeletal apes and sweeping them along the gravel and dirt avalanche as Gon quickly resumed running into the forest.

Garou immediately stopped, clutching the tree as the avalanche reaches them, large trees being toppled over by the descent of huge rocks broken free from the valley exterior, viciously overcoming the edge of the forest and continuing. He jumped back to the previous tree, and the previous one and so on. The avalanche seemingly pursuing them in relentless intention.

Emma watched with a despairing feeling in her gut at the avalanche behind them, hearing the incessant cussing in Garou's breath. His arm held around her waist in a close, slight tightness to keep from losing his grip of her as he jumped to every tree, with a forceful strain to his body she could actually feel tense.

"I'm going to hit that kid so damn hard if he's alive after that." She was able to make out Garou's hushed words of anger and desperation to keep ahead, and that left her feeling even more frightful. Would Gon and Killua be able to flee from that? Would Garou?

She clutched the tracker to her chest. _Think. Think! What can we do?_

The avalanche extended throughout the entire slope of the valley wall, like the picture of Niagara Falls, flowing and flowing down chunks and chunks of pieces of itself, and gradually drowning the forest behind them. What can they do? What can they-?

And suddenly, she remembered. Reaching one of the pockets of her vest, she felt the edge of the Support Card. _Please. Please anything._

She takes it out in a tight grip as Garou traversed the forest at its top, remembering the cues to activate said card. _Anything that can get us out of this. No wait. We have to make sure if Gon and Killua are okay. Please. If they're in trouble, I want to help them!_

**"Mystery Card! On!"**

Garou looked at her when he heard her yell, and saw the card in her hand. Before he could question, the square image of the card suddenly flickered, it made a sound as if it was dice roll, and several instances of images flickered through the image as the words and descriptions of the card suddenly vanished.

_Ding!_

The roll stopped at once. A new image of a black silhouette shouting for three other black silhouettes, and a new description of the card appeared.

**_Support Card_: Contact.**

**_Card Type_: Communication. (Universal).**

**_Description_: As a Universal Type Card, this card can establish a connection to more than one person at a long distance. The targeted people of communication do not require a Contact Card and will hear the voice of the caller distinctly. Contacted people at separate locations can still be reached from their individual places or in the same room, and communication will be established at the same time.**

A communication card. Not one that may help them out of this situation, and yet it was perfect.

"Contact anyone within range!" She demanded. _Please. Please respond. Gon. Killua._

A sound of a beep within the card. **[Communication Established].**

_"-diot! Idiot! IDIOT! Why did you make that avalanche!?"_

_"I didn't think it'd go that well! Besides! It got rid of those monsters!"_

_"And now it's coming for us STUPID!"_

_"I KNOW THAT! I CAN HEAR IT BEHIND US KILLUA!"_

Emma and Garou were surprised at the voices, the background noises of the unmistakable crumbling waves of the valley stones. Emma called through it, "Gon! Killua!"

_"Huh what?! E-Emma?"_

"Yes!" She explained with utter happy relief, but remaining fathom of the urgency, "I'm talking through a Support Card! I used the Mystery Box Card and it gave me a card to contact you guys! Are you both alright?!"

_"Y-yeah! Well, I mean, k-kind of?_" Gon sputtered, _"After we got separated from you and those skeleton monsters chased us, we led them over a valley and-"_

_"And Gon thought it was smart to hit the Valley and cause a collapse to deal with those monsters,"_ Killua cuts in, his mood obvious with his annoyed and dumbfounded tone, _"and now we're trying to stay ahead of the avalanche he caused!"_

_"I SAID I WAS SORRY!"_

Emma looked ahead, her eyes widened, recognizing another imminent problem they are approaching. From the height of Garou's leaping from the tree-tops, she sees a distant ledge, the vastness of the canyon.

"Uh oh," Garou sees it as well, and he cursed at their luck.

Emma yells into the Contact Card, "Gon! Killua! There's a cliff coming up ahead!"

_"How far?"_ Killua asked. _"If it's not too far, we can probably make it."_

"I-" She strained her eyes, her face agitated, "I can't tell exactly! If we get close enough, I might be able to judge its distance. But it's too far for anyone to jump!"

"At this point, it's all we got," Garou muttered out, and it hit Emma with a reminder. These weren't normal people of normal human capabilities, but it's unknown if they_ would _be able to reach it.

But it really was their only option, unless they were strong and agile enough to swim through that avalanche.

"Put that card and tracker away."

Emma looked up in startle at Garou's order, the sight of his eyes that held a set idea in fierce resilience. There was much to ask what he had in mind, one that Emma already suspected, and they were on depleting time before she could first think more of his intentions, and what other options they could have. So, putting trust in his judgment, she did as he said, inserting the card back into her vest pocket.

"Hold on tight," Garou abruptly adjust his hold of her against his shoulder and she reactively latched on, arms around his neck and the deathly terrifying sight of the avalanche that chased them, tearing through the trees.

Garou drops from the trees, holding Emma in a quick embrace. He rolled quickly across the ground, defending the girl from the impact and sprinted forward with all his might. Emma felt the rushing wind at her back, the rumble of the avalanche that was growing closer, then suddenly further. Was it slowing down to a settle? No, it was Garou, he's moving faster!

_"Emma?!" _She heard Gon called through the card, but she was bracing through the increasing rush of Garou's building speed.

The cliff was in sight. The canyon before them, the gorge reaching for several meters and the abyss that waits below.

"Don't let go or your dead," Garou growled, at the very edge, he jumped. Her face huddled against neck with sealed-tight eyes, holding her breath as she felt the fall, almost too long, as they reach pass the distance in meters.

He clawed onto the surface of the other side of the canyon, smashing his undamaged fist and dragging with his other hand into the concrete, stomping both his feet into the surface as they fell slower and slower, until coming to a complete stop. Emma opened her eyes, a quick observance to their surroundings.

_He made it._ He was clinging onto the wall, having jumped over the gorge of several meters, a jump that looked to reach over half a mile. Awestruck once more at the amazing feat of the dark hunter, hearing his hefty breathing after such a tremendous run.

Emma then realized their opportunity, and grabs the communication card from her vest pocket again, "Gon! Killua! We made it beyond the cliff and to the other ledge. It's about twenty to thirty meters apart!"

_"Twenty to thirty. We can make it!"_ She heard Killua affirmed.

_"Yosh! Let's do it!"_ Said Gon.

Oddly enough, even for her, Emma believed them. They could feel the hum of the coming avalanche, and two short figures leapt from the edge at the far right. The avalanche drowned the whole forest, and spills over the edge, with it, it's trees, some other monstrous creatures, and even sights of the skeletal apes, falling and screaming furiously all the way into the dark abyss below.

Gon and Killua escaped unscathed, their great powered by their Nen they infused into their feet, and traveled over the gorge, landing upon the next ledge just barely, and rushed forward continuously as the avalanche spills far behind them.

_"We made it!"_ Gon announced, unknowing of her and Garou's witness of their accomplished escape.

"Holy... They really did it," Garou was widely impressed. Those kids really _are_ something else. Emma felt both amazement and happiness at their safe flee, and she whispered a "thank goodness."

Hearing the avalanche fall behind them, overflowing the edge and dripping in great flows to the abyss below them, Garou started his climb. Emma holding onto him securely.

_"Alright! Where are you guys?"_ Gon asked from her card, _"We need to get together and use the card to get all of us out of here."_

"We're just climbing up. Maybe there's a spot we can all meet?" Emma secured the card in her vest pocket, keeping the pocket open to have her voice be received clearly, and then takes out the Monster Tracker, flipping it open to read through the screen. "There's several monsters in the area. We need to be careful."

If they were to cut through anywhere just to catch up, they could be met with another group of savage monsters.

_"Hold on."_

She heard Gon, and then some rummaging in the background, movements of quick steps like hopping, leaves and sticks - or branches, being pushed aside. _"Hm... Let's see. Maybe there's a landmark we can all meet. Ah! Hey! There's a tall hill with a yellow glowing point! Do you see it Emma?"_

"A tall hill with a golden point?" Emma repeated. She and Garou managed back onto the ground, herself being set down and she lets go of Garou.

_"Yeah! It's really noticeable, and it doesn't look that far either."_

Hearing Gon, Garou looked at one of the trees the same time as Emma. Regarding each other briefly, she offered first, "I can check it out. There are monsters around but they're far enough that, if we be quiet, they won't notice us."

"Mm," Garou responded, glancing the area. "...Alright. Don't take too long."

She nodded, and then goes for the closest tree. His eyes staring at her back as she grasped along the bark into a climb, finding proper footing and grabbed the first branch, then resumed upwards. He then surveyed the surroundings, careful and mindful of any sounds or presence that might come out and ambush them.

Emma reached the top, poking out from the leaves and at a single glance around, she spots it. From a distance, it was like a miniature mountain within the mountain, a sharp point that was glittering gold - a Golden-Peak Hill. The strange magic that resulted in its golden-cap glow that which Emma does not know, was the reaction of the sun stones all cluttered together in glowing light like a beacon.

"I see it!" Exclaimed Emma. "Alright! We'll meet you there! I'll keep this card active until then!"

_"Okay! We're heading there now. Be safe!"_

"Yeah, you guys be careful too," she hoped for their safety until they may reach the destination, and starts to climb back down the tree. Meeting back with Garou once she came down, she informs him of their next destination.

"There's a landmark Gon and Killua are heading for. We might be able to cross with them once we get there," She looked down on her tracker.

Understanding, he nodded. "Lead the way then, kid."

She smiled. Looking at her tracker, she then proceeds down a path, quick on her feet but also attentive to her surroundings, equipping her rifle should trouble stumbles upon them. Garou follows her behind, keeping with her running pace, and they left into the forest. The sounds of the avalanche long behind them dripping and dripping until it finally ceased and settled, having dwindled its rush of rolling earthly debris.

And from underneath the thin streams of the tall cliff side, about four skeletal apes latched onto it with their fingers jabbed into the stone. Their red eyes glowing for the fleeing competitors, their feelings restless, and full of stubborn intentions.

/.\

Running for the Golden Hills through the forest tensed with monsters they actively avoid, with the tracker to guide them. Allowing Emma to run on her own, Garou kept to her side, attentive to their surroundings as they go, following along her directions as shown in her device that mapped the area they pass through. That Monster Tracker has been certainly a great use to them. Able to know and watch for any dangerous paths to avoid and for him to avoid a fight while he can catch a breath and spare his broken limb of further damage. It was smart to have stuck with her and her friends after all then.

Emma was also appreciative of Garou's presence, for as harsh and questionably sane as he was, his physical capabilities was an advantage that had the both of them overcome certain obstacles and dire situations she wouldn't have been able to solve with her own human feats as a child. For her cleverness, and immediate expert handle of weaponry, she was coming to a blank of how she could have escaped that avalanche just now. Nor would have been fast enough to outrun it and jump over that gorge even when she was the most athletic one of her family.

She just could not stop thinking on it. How amazing it was for someone to achieve that kind of power, even Olympic runners, at least from what she read upon, would not have done something so incredible - gold medal contestants that defined their human natural ability, and this guy beside her surpassed all of them, the sort of person that could win ALL the gold medals.

Even now, he's carrying on his injuries as if they were nothing, but Emma knew to be reasonable. He was hurting, they haven't even wrapped his broken arm in a cast yet and he was still using it. That _can't_ be good. As much as she would also like to force her way to bearing through situations, if he were to collapse, he'd be vulnerable.

It's why the consideration that came, to encourage Gon and Killua to use the Transport card and leave Beast Valley, save themselves, and Emma and Garou could find their own escape route, so long as she has her tracker. But with Garou injured, if they were to cross a monster on accident, it would likely be bad for him, she hasn't even seen how badly he's managing after his daring confrontation with those groups of skeletal apes, he shouldn't force himself beyond too far.

So they have to leave together, Emma, Garou, Gon, and Killua. They have to leave immediately with the Transport Card. Especially since, it's unknown if there's a place they have to reach to confirm their stars count, and likely won't be inside Beast Valley. So for all their sake, they have to meet together and leave all at once.

"There's another cliff coming up," Emma informs. They slowed their run and came to a stop before the cliff's edge. The next canyon was considerably far, but there were stone paths that stretched and connected to that place, and right around its edge, the golden cap hill with its glimmering top.

"There it is!" Emma said eagerly. "Hopefully, Gon and Killua are already there."

Suddenly, her tracker beeped. A monster, or rather, groups of monsters were approaching through the gorge.

"HOEEEEEEEEEEE!"

They instinctively ducked when a sudden small figure quickly flew by, riding upon her pink staff with wings at the bird-shape head of her staff, a little girl with short light brown hair, wearing a pink, frilly dress, screaming in fright. Clinging onto her pink puffy short sleeves, a small orange creature, with an appearance like a small lion-cub, with cute small wings on his back.

"Stay calm, Sakura sis! I'm right behind you!" Shouting after the flying girl, a boy with blue hair, tied in a long, braided hair-tail, loose clothing fitting for travel through a desert with a blue vest and white puffy pants. He follows after the flying girl, riding upon a white, blanket-like cloth.

Emma and Garou watched, her in awe and him in curiosity. "They're... They're flying..." Emma said in total wonder. The sight of the girl riding on her winged staff like that of a witch, but dresses so brightly and pretty as if she would be going to a ball, as oppose to Emma's own understanding of the dark clothed magic casters with pointy black hats and black cats for companions - or so it was described in the storybooks she's read. As for the boy, he too reminded Emma of another story, a fairy tale about a young prince with a magic flying carpet.

_This place really got all sorts of people_, Garou thought idly to himself. The instant that thought of his left, a swarm rises from the gorge after the flying children. Bat-like monstrous creatures, with wide blood-colored fangs that could devour a head at a single bite. They chased after the children who flew up to the sky, circling the area to avoid the vicious bat-winged monsters that were gaining on them. Emma instantly felt the need to help those children, but they were too far in the sky for even her bullets or arrows to reach.

The blue-haired boy turned as his cloth resumed for the girl - Sakura Kinomoto. He takes out a winged-shaped staff of his own, made from what looked to be gold-like wood. Seen by those of magical capabilities, or that close to it, he waved his staff, a swarm of butterfly like energies made from light gathered and circled around himself and his staff, and its gathering, he launches an orb ball of light, it latches onto each and everyone of the bat-like creatures, trapping each and every one of them in a glowing orb cage.

"Sakura! Get on Aladdin's cloth now!" The little winged lion cub shouted from her shoulder.

"R-right!" Sakura looked down at the approaching cloth until it was right under her and she drops upon it. As if landing simply on a sturdy surface, and gaining hold of her staff, retracting it's wing abilities.

"I got it from here Aladdin!" Sakura boldly declared.

Aladdin smiled widely, "Okay, sis! Knock them back!"

With a firm nod, Sakura pulled out a card from her bag by her side, **"Windy Card! Push the monster bats into the nearest cave! WINDY!"**

The card was suspended before her, and with the head of her staff, she taps the card by the tip, and a glow envelops from the card. A burst of power in yellow wind like forms from the card, a womanly, beautiful feature emerges, with long light blonde hair like silk, as if it was a stream of wind if it were solidified.

Amazed at the sight of a mystical element personified, Emma and Garou witnessed as Windy rushes for the trapped bat monsters, surrounding the orb cage of light of fluttering magic, and drags them to the bottom, where at the nearest cave, she sends them deep and deep into the darkness.

"Yes! Let's hurry back to the others!" Sakura ushered.

Aladdin nods, "Right! Hang on tight!" He flies the white cloth downward, and over the forest, nearly right above Emma and Garou's heads.

"Was that magic?" Emma asked, her eyes shining with incredible intrigue and child wonder. She looked to Garou to see if he thought the same. He gave her a blatant look and shrugs.

"Not like I can tell," he said. He's known and seen tricks of illusion or elemental uses before, the closest thing to consider a sort of "mystical" like ability was the concept of_ Chi_ Bang taught him about, and the telekinetic powers of the Top Class Hero sisters - S-class Terrible Tornado Tatsumaki, and B-class Hellish Blizzard Fubuki. Funny enough, anything bluntly called "magic" would have been given an odd look by some unless they knew that it was just a magician's act. Garou didn't care, a power was a power he had to adjust and overcome, if he needs to defeat a person of such abilities.

He felt the hair stand up from the back of his neck. A sudden warning call of something falling. Emma felt it too, an approaching object being hurtled towards them, and they looked behind them.

"Oh shi-!" Garou grabbed Emma once more, and dashed over the cliff's edge. A tree crashed where they had just been standing, and from far behind them, beyond where Emma's tracker could not extend beyond it's fifty meter range, the skeletal Yasha Ape screeched with horrifying vengeance from the top of it's own tall, sharp point hill within the forest. From the creature's position, its fellow skeleton ape tosses another tree for it. The higher ape grasped it easily, and throws it passionately even without seeing his targets anymore.

"Damn stubborn skeleton still around," Garou grumbled, feet right before the path but his back against the wall was immediate when another tree shadowed over their heads, and they watched as it fell into the abyss below them.

"It must have braced through the avalanche and held on somehow," Emma easily assumed, which leaves to the even more obvious conclusion, these were very strong monsters.

She hears the warning beep of her tracker, "There's something heading for us from behind. More of them?"

Garou looks at the path that connects to the other cliff-side. An idea came to him at once. As they hear the quick approaching monsters above the ground they were just on, he darted for and across the path, holding Emma around her waist as she, in reaction to his sudden movements, latched onto his arm.

Crossing the path with ease. He suddenly sets her down, "Can you climb up this cliff?"

Emma looked at him, looking back the path, and her mind understood._ Smart kid,_ Garou mused. She looked back at him and nodded, "I can. No problem."

"Good. Now get going."

With a nod, she ran up to the cliffside and started her climb, feeling and adjusting the rough hold of the surface familiar and easily doable for the active girl who has more than once traveled through many similar obstacles such as this.

Seeing that she wasn't so much of a slow-poke, Garou then turns his attention to the other paths right here. Five in total. He goes to the first. With a deep breath and precision, he punches the end of the path. A sudden crack through, and the path began to crumble and fell apart, bits of itself falling into the darkness of below. The skeletal apes have arrived, and what they saw, they knew at once, what was happening, and they hurried to beat it.

But Garou was fast. One instant strike and the second path crumbled as well, then the third, and then the fourth. The skeletal apes who first tried these paths, stumbled at his quick strike of its ends and immediately they jumped for the next path before they too would fall along with it. The leading ape screaming with baring large teeth for the dark fighter, severity in its red eyes.

Garou punches the final path, and it fell apart quick. The skeletal reaches out for him and his unmoving stature, but the leading monster barely even grazed his chin before falling into the depths, along with the rest of its pals.

"Gotta approve that tenacity," Garou muttered under his breath, rising his fist from the ground. "Sorry, but with how I'm gonna go about my mission, any other monster I meet are rivals I got to surpass."

After climbing the short cliff-side, Emma went searching to see if Gon and Killua have arrived yet, and also ensuring that there were no monsters here. She looked throughout the surroundings of this mainly rocky area of small hills, with the one glowing right there at the edge to her far right. "Gon? Killua?"

_"Emma?"_

She first felt warmed with relief at the voice, but realizing that it was a voice that came from her still active card, she pulls it out. "Gon. Killua. Are you guys almost here?"

_"Yeah! We'll be there in a few minutes! Don't worry!"_

It was assuring enough that at least they were alright so far. "Okay. We'll be here waiting-"

A beep from her tracker. Emma looked at it from her other hand, and she gasped._ "Emma? What's wrong?"_

She looked behind her, there was another tall hill, seeing only its side. So far, this place might work as a hiding spot, but there could be a creature or creatures that might be able to climb over these tall hills. "Guys, watch out okay? There's some monsters around here, and something might end up coming this way. Garou and I are going to see if we can find a place to hide until you guys can get here."

Garou had hopped to the cliff's edge when he heard her, "What's that about hiding?"

As he approached her, Emma had begun to explain, "I'm getting readings of three monsters in the area..." She looked at her tracker, "...Garou, did you fought off those skeleton monsters just now?"

He looked at her. Before he could answer, a sudden loud huff of fury and determination sound behind Garou, right from the cliff side he just climbed from and they looked. A large hand of bones stretched out and slammed its fingers into piercing the ground, the white head and red eyes coming up from the edge. It was the leading ape, having grasped the side of the cliff just in the nick of time, and made its agitated climb here.

Guess he should have checked and made sure these creatures of bones and rage had actually fell completely.

"Oh for f-" Garou was about to outright curse as Emma, with a baffled but fierce expression, putting away the Contact card and her Monster Tracker, she equips her bow and enchanted arrows.

"It's those skeleton monsters. They've found us!" Emma announced for Gon and Killua to hear through the card.

_"We're on our way!"_ Gon promised. Sounds of his and Killua hurrying through whatever area they were passing into, Emma did not pay it anymore mind as her attention was now on the surviving Skeleton Yasha Apes.

"I'm honestly amazed how stubborn these guys are!" He added with a perturbed face. He almost wanted to applaud for the monster's tenacity - ironic of him that he didn't now.

The skeletal ape suddenly ducked its head down, and with a tremendous heave, he throws another huge body of its same size up for the two competitors. Garou quickly went and pulled Emma back, putting her behind him as the second skeletal ape made its landing, having been saved by the first with a quick grasp to its exposed ribs, and the beast huffed deeply, eyes vehement red.

Two enemies, and one other monster in the area. If they were to make too much noise, they might incidentally drawn in that third monster. If they try to flee, who knows what other monster they may run into, and if they may ever return here while Gon and Killua were still on their way. There was no choice, risking exposure from the third monster currently out of sight, they will have to fight and stand their planned meeting ground.

"Keep your distance," Garou advised Emma with a low voice. "Or you'll just be in my way, and I won't hold back my attacks. So for your sake..."

"Right," said Emma, equipping the arrow by the string of her bow, "Maybe with these enchanted arrows, it might be as effective with these monsters as it did for that last one."

"Worth a shot. Just don't hit me on accident, or else it won't just be _these_ monsters you'll have to worry about."

She remained calm and focus as she stares in brave defiance against the skeletal apes. Determine to survive, like a cornered animal looking for the precise fatal weakness to strike. So she's dealt with situations like this before then? Makes him wonder the kind of lifestyle she lived for an orphan girl of a loving home and family, who's ignorant of her own world.

He supposes some bit of help wasn't unwarranted. Not that he _needed_ it, but it would make this easier. Plus, two on two, they were on equal grounds, so this was basically fair giving. If it means they can survive out of this, then this mutual alliance shall be put to use.

The two skeletal apes lined side by side, and with a brief observance to the prepped competitors before them, they unleashed their mighty roar, and they rushed forward.

Emma ran back, Garou stood his ground. The skeletal apes moved with nice agility, but he moved just as quick. He avoided the first swing of the first ape as the second has his eyes on Emma, her bow and arrow at the ready. Garou went to the side of the first skeletal ape, grabbing the shoulder that was the monster's literal collarbone, and flipping himself around to the next ape and served a powerful kick to the side of the skull.

The second skeletal ape was surprised by the attack and nearly tumbled over, and Garou's feet returned for the first one, but the first skeletal ape was impressively reactive, blocking his kick and reached to grab the calves, but Garou tapped the face of skeleton beast with his foot and he bounced back in time to dodge the grapple.

At the second skeletal ape dazed reaction, Emma sees her chance, as its distraction - if its reaction was just as honed as the Undead Yasha Ape - will allow this enchanted arrow to pierce. Releasing it, the right eye of the skeletal ape was hit and its head jolted back.

A burst of flames escaped its sockets and filled its head, surrounding its skull in unrelenting fire. It shrieked at the heated damage in-taking, and yanks the arrow out, but the fire continues to burn at its bone. She hurries and launches her next arrow, bringing down her ammunition of the enchanted arrows to six arrows.

Garou readies for his next strike, but at his close proximity, his stomach was yanked by the unknown force. Surprised, he staggered, briefly grabbing his gut, distracted for two seconds, long enough for the first skeletal ape to go right to his front with baring teeth.

"Garou!" Emma smoothly reached for her next arrow, quickly aiming at the closing monster before it would chomp at Garou. However, pressing against the ground with his foot that cracked under the pressure, he swung up his knee and slammed the ape right under its jaw.

"Don't think I'm easy prey," with a ferocious grin and sharpened eyes, his face truly vicious as his hands flowed, "I'll bite you right back."

He tossed down a powerful punch, an impact that cracked, and practically shattered the foundation into a massive indent of the area. All in the way immediately lost their balance. The aftershock did not reach Emma, but even she too had nearly lost her footing, able to keep herself from falling with a ground-press of her feet and going on one knee.

**"Tanktop Tackle!"**

Powerful legs that launched him from where he stood, his arms braced against his chest, crossed, he slammed against the first skeletal ape like a bull. The monster was knocked right into the air, but not the end of his attack. Garou twisted around, and jumped up even higher than the beast, his body spun and he swung down his foot.

The skeletal ape reacted quickly, bracing against his powerful kick by quickly picking up its arms in protection, the bones of his arms cracked under his powerful attack, but still held in one piece. Garou knocked him right into the second flailing, on fire skeletal ape, hurtling the first with another kick from his other foot and knocking the monsters to collide, smashing against the earth and into another new crater under them.

Gasping, Garou landed on his feet, hunched over slightly, but still held his hands with its baring fingers. Emma looked on in amazement, but then returned to her calm focus and realized her opportunity. She fired her next arrow, piercing the first ape and watched as another burst of flames swarmed the two screaming skeleton beasts. _We're almost there! We just-_

A startling rumble of the ground, enough for her to shake. A massive step behind her, and the huge shadow that fell over her. She saw Garou's notice of the small quake, turned to her, gilded eyes shot upward above her head and widened. Hearing the deep growl as if from the sky, with her instincts screaming of danger, Emma turned to look.

From the top of the hill behind her, the familiar size and appearance of the blue-striped, orange color dinosaur with its brown horned helmet - a Greymon oversees the beings below it, and it roared.

"Kid. Move."

It did not even need to be said. Emma sprinted for Garou as his frantic hand ushered her over to his side. The Greymon hopped down from the hill, Garou grabbed her arm, pulling her aside and backed several feet away as the Greymon landed with a great quake. Behind its sharp fangs, an intense heat of orange, yellow, and red color.

**Fire Wall.**

A massive flame spews out from its mouth, yanking the child by her arm, Garou ran to the side. The fire chased after him, torching the earth with its streams of flames that grew into a massive barrier of fire, blocking their exit to retreat back to the edge of the cliff. At Garou's continuing pursue of avoidance with Emma having the full-front experience of the chasing, terrifying flames.

The flames reached where the already currently on fire apes were upon, the first ape upon the second reacted the quickest, pushing himself out of the crater. The second was not as fortunate, and it was forced to embrace the flames, bellowing a screech until its white-gray bones became charred into black.

The fire stream had stopped then, Garou huffed briefly as he moved back to the center, their place surrounded by fire, the heat breaking both him and Emma into sweat. Emma winced from the intense heat all around them.

_Crap. We're trapped in a ring of fire._ Garou analyzed with a brief observation of their surroundings. He looked down at the girl, who appeared to realize their situation as well. _Maybe I should toss her for one of these hills. Hell if I know if it's safe, but it's better than just standing here-_

A disturbance behind him, Garou and Emma were stirred in alarmed, he yanked her aside before she would move, and large fanged teeth seeped into his whole shoulder. The skeletal Yasha Ape growled, its bite piercing the flesh of Garou and his left collar bone, the bone hands gripping the top of his silver-haired head, and the other grabbing his left arm.

A disturbance behind him, Garou and Emma flinched in alarmed, he yanked her aside before she would move, and large fanged teeth seeped into his whole shoulder. The skeletal Yasha Ape growled, its bite piercing the flesh of Garou and his left collar bone, the bone hands gripping the top of his silver-haired head, and the other grabbing his left arm.

Emma gasped in horror. Garou pushed her aside as she quickly readies her next arrow to help. He reached up and grabbed the head of the biting skeletal ape. Leaning forward with a jerk of his body, the ape was lifted right over his shoulder. The skeletal ape and Emma were surprised. The unrelenting teeth of its bite tears the flesh of Garou's shoulder, a growl escaping through his gritted teeth, pulling the ape over with much of his strength, and slamming the skeleton on it's back against the ground.

He followed up with a twirling his fist, revved up in a quick flow upward, and then down to a brutal, killing-intent sucker punch. A loud breaking of the skull, bone features smashed under fist, and the ape's head was forced into the ground, its head completely under.

"Garou!"

He looked up. Emma's eyes widened at the approaching Greymon, its head lowered, its knees slightly bend, and the horn at its nose pointed for them.

The tell tale sign of a beast ready to charge.

"Run!" Emma yelled. But where can they ran with their surroundings blocked by walls of fire?

The Greymon's hind legs pushed its body forth. Its horn demonstrated to impale anything in its way.

**Great Horn Attack!**

It happened next in a near instant. Garou steps up in front of Emma who has her next enchanted arrow, though it was a wonder if its magic will affect the fire-prone creature, but there was no time to switch, and at the least, she can hit the creature's eye.

The charging opponent drew closer. Only tremendous force could stop it at its tracks. A slight delay or weak power will not do.

_I have to hit it with everything I got!_

There was no use of excuses, even for his battered body, there was only one way to this, and it was too late to flee now. Garou stood his ground, in a stance and prepped a powerful counter that puts forth all of his strength and being. The horn feature like a dart that was coming for the both of them. Emma readies her arrow. Commitment shone in their eyes, hers full of bravery, his seeing with firm resolve. The horn was right before them.

Out of nowhere, an object fell between the opposing forces. The object, a figure, with a mighty kick it delivered to the head of the Greymon before the monster would reach the two competitors and before Garou could touch it with his fullest.

An instant break of the horned helmet from this kick, shimmered from plates of metals, and glimmering with stars it also attached with. The huge monster charge was disrupted, and it fell to the ground on its chin.

A fathom and surprised looks from Emma and Garou, at the sudden intervention of this individual. Neither Gon or Killua was who came to their aide, but an entirely new person.

And his grand achievement as a fellow competitor of this event, for on his body, were plates of armor that shines under the light of the flames around them, gold stars stuck onto their individual patches plastered on his arms, legs, shoulders, his chest plates as well.

All fourteen stars he carries on him.

The Greymon's head staggers to rise, opening its glare to the one that intervened, and started to fill its mouth with flames once more.

**"Pegasus Meteor Fist!"**

A beginning odd dance that was similar to Garou's movements of his martial arts, the armored person jabbed a single fist forward. What came left Emma absolutely speechless and Garou eyes widened.

From his fist, several beams of light pummeled the face of the Greymon. Several times over in an instant. The Greymon was thrown back by the powerful force, crashing into the hill behind it.

Emma looked on amazed, Garou stared in bemused.

"I heard your call," The individual then spoke, turning his head to look at the staring competitors. They see the headpiece he wore around his forehead, his hair brown and short, almost wild yet refine, and warm brown eyes that held a great courage to them he looked with to the people behind him, glancing down at the girl whom he offered a kind smile to.

"Looks like I made it just in time. Nice work holding up," the armored person, Seiya amended, raising his hand in a smiling greet.

* * *

_**Competitors Introduced:**_

_**Sakura Kinomoto (Card Captor Sakura)**_

_**Aladdin (Magi: ****Labyrinth**** of Magic)**_

_**Seiya (Saint Seiya)**_

**So! I have overestimate how much I can write in this chapter once again! I thought I would be able to finish up this arc in this chapter, but I ended up writing more than I planned, so ****definitely****, next chapter will be the chapter that will conclude the Preliminary Arc... or who knows? I might end up writing so much again.**

**Q/A:**

**_Lord of the Weed:_ Eventually, they will likely meet a hostile competitor, but that's later down the road. For now, Garou is the closest one we're gonna have as a hostile competitor to face against hero competitors and strong competitors - he's a fighter who fights anyone who claims themselves strong or a fighter as well, like the students of Bang's dojo, and the participants of the fighting tournament he snuck into.**

**_Maxim7:_ I have an idea of what nen type Garou will be. Believe me, I've been thinking on it constantly. As of now though, he's still pushing it back, but it's starting to break through.**

**That sound was definitely something happening in some other place. It's to show that everything else is going on while our leading characters are going on their own adventure, but that noise will be referenced, very soon in fact, next chapter likely. ****However, my intention is to finish this arc, THEN let it settle so that I can resume posting chapters for my other stories, and come back here once I'm done with that. But I might feel inspired and come back here and post new chapters now and then.**

**With that said, thank you for reading. Lot of crazy things happening in the world, lot of sorrows, so I hope this chapter might be a nice escape, or help us cope until we can all face the issue together, hopefully in harmony, though we may end up getting slap in the face or worse. Stay safe everyone.**


	13. End of Preliminary

Chapter 13: End of Preliminary

There lived a group of warriors; they were called** Saints**. Champions of the cosmos, controlling the power that resides within themselves - the cosmo inside. Their bodies were their weapons, carrying the strength to crack the earth with a kick, and pierce the sky with a punch. Among these groups of warriors, bringers of peace and justice, fighters for Athena - the Goddess of War and Wisdom, there is one Saint; a warrior strength in body and at heart. A passion that cuts fire, and a courage that overcomes impossible odds.

His name... is Saint Seiya.

Emma stared at the young man who held such a young face. In armor like a knight, with a crown-like head piece like a prince. Having punched that large beast at its face, his fist firing as if they were shooting stars, fists that held such a power. She would have such dreams, to have such strength, to lift heavy objects or go against much bigger foes with her own little arms, the realm of whimsical fantasy, but was grounded in admittance of her own capabilities even as an athletic child. Essentially, she dreamed, and is resolute to the point of being unreasonable, but still knew to be sensible.

To do such amazing things, she would pursue it, but it was not so simple as to say that she could just wall-run up a tall obstacle, tear a tree right off from the ground and swung at her opponents, punch a creature that sought to kill with these little fists. She was a dreamer who had to accept the foundation of what was physically possible - like wanting to use a rocket launcher but not having the arm strength to use it, so she had to compromise, and find a much smaller weapon to wield. A compromise, like having to leave behind the youngest in order to secure the path to freedom. She could still hope, she could still sprint for that better path, but ultimately, it was not within her power to decide if something or someone were to accept her plea-

_The nameless man who knew insufferable loneliness and survivors guilt, who knew of a family, and who had been just like her, wanting to reach the Human World._

Or deny it, and let her be succumbed to the trials of survival and despair.

_The tall demon in dark clothing, his vice for a worthy opponent, slaughtering and sparing children for his own search of a true battle, merciless and hungry for a challenge._

Yet here was someone who looked so young, to have done something so superhuman, just like Garou, just like Gon and Killua. Once again, she was at awe of what human beings like herself can actually achieve.

She thought back on Seiya's statement. The words he said that left her drawing a blank, and then, epiphany.

_Contact anyone within range!_

_I heard your call._

The action she had done that granted her the Contact Card, she had been vague in her request, but it was something she had to do if in case Gon and Killua were to have suddenly left the forest, she was also unaware of their full names, so she generalized. Because of that, the Contact Card must have opened a communication link with anyone, literally anyone, around the whole forest, in hopes that she may reach those boys.

And this armored fighter had been in the area. He had heard her call for Gon and Killua, everything they discussed between each other through the Support Card, and came as soon as it sounded that she and Garou were in trouble. He had come to help.

Garou observed in silence, a blank yet intense focus that acknowledged the person before him, a dawning click in his eyes not of recognition, but the instant thought that came at this person's appearance. They heard a rumble from the falling rocks of the hill the Greymon had crashed into, and the dinosaur-beast stagnantly rises, shaking its head to keep its consciousness, the fragments of its horned-helmet flying off.

Seiya turns back to the Greymon, his warm brown eyes turned stern, a hint of a grin. "Honestly, I never thought I would face something like a T-Rex here..."

The Greymon looked over with an intense glare.

"But hey, I've fought a dragon before," and there has not been a beast in his world that could compete the strength of a Saint. Seiya's hands then made motion, as if drawing some sort of shape with wings.

The Greymon lifted itself up, and its mouth began to fill up with fire once more. With amazing speed, Seiya sprung forward, a yell in preparation to his pulled-back fist, and he thrust forward his pointed knuckles. Slamming a punch to the body of the Greymon, his strength shocking and undeniable, the monster was forced further into the hill, breaking through completely as chunks of the hill scattered, and the Greymon disappeared through the cloud of dust.

He quickly looked back at the competitors that were still eyeing him with either great amazement, or odd scrutiny.

"Get somewhere safe! I'll buy you some time!" With that, Seiya dashes into the cloud of dust, and leaving their chance of escape through this large opening between the walls of flames.

They stared at the path he disappeared to for another moment, Garou especially even while his shoulder bled through his teeth-ripped fabric of a sleeve. Emma looked up as she heard his blood dripping and jolted. Her arms frantic for him, "Ah! We have to treat and close that wound up!"

He seemed to recall that the girl was there and blinked at her way, but then, a disturbance quietly tended the ground, and the sight of the skeletal ape he had punched into the ground, forcing its head out from his supposed to be killer punch. The face of its skull was completely crushed through, smashed little pieces that fell off one by one, but its vicious red eyes still sparked with intense life and hatred, emitting a deep release of a snarl through its broken face.

"That is one tough bastard..." Garou muttered, turning his defensive-offensive stance for the skeletal ape.

"It could be the same weakness, or maybe with enough hits from these enchanted arrows..." Emma grimaced with a thought, "But if it's reaction are too fast, it might just catch any arrow I fire, just like what that gorilla monster did before." And just like how she remembered Lewis could deflect bullets with not only his reaction but his terrifying speed.

Garou side-glances at her for a moment, and then back at the ape who was steadily rising, "In that case, think I can use that arrow you're holding?"

Caught off-guard by his request, while keeping her attention to the slow rising skeleton ape, she looked up at him confused. "The arrow? _Just_ the arrow?"

"Pretty much," he said patiently expectant. A second later and Emma was able to fathom his planned intent. It was a risky thing though, one that could harm him as much as it would to this skeleton beast, but then she remembered the steaming state of the Undead Yasha Ape, the fresh smoke and new burnt scars it wore as if it had been dowsed in flames recent, much recent than when she did so.

She came to that conclusion then, confirmed by Garou's own words here even if he had not said it outright, and however he had done it, he seem to not have suffered any burnt marks, and he was agile, his punches just as quick, if he could actually use this arrow...

A terrible feel arose in their guts as the gravel behind them sounded in disturbance. They whipped around to see that right there, a near-dead skeleton beast that had endured the Greymon's direct fire breath, completely charred head to toe, not a remaining color of its bone. Yet its body still kept together, and as it physically stammered bit by bit, it reaches out with its skeletal hand intent to crush. Emma backed away, Garou averted his arms to strike the coming skeletal beast.

A yo-yo suddenly zipped over and around the outstretched arm of the skeletal beast, a tight close then to a single yank, and the string pulls the arm away, an instant crack of its humerus that threatens to break through.

"Emma!"

A familiar young voice calls from the top of the gold glimmering hill, where the awaited for have finally arrived, panting from their sprint all the way to this point. Emma widely smiled at the appearance of her friends.

"Gon! Killua!" She shouted for them. She felt a disturbance at one of the pocket of her vest, and had glanced down in time to see the Contact card glow, and then vanished, having accomplished its goal and no longer needed with the contacted now in the area.

Gon and Killua ran down the hill as the burnt skeletal ape reaches to grab the string, but the yo-yo released its arm and retracts back to Killua's grasp. Gon swung his rod, tosses the hook for the near-death skeletal ape, hooking the end at its eye-socket, and he pulled. The skeletal ape was forced down by Gon's quick reel of its head, the neck close to snapping right off after just a tremendous pull from Gon's own** aura enhanced** strength, until the hook broke through the edge of its sockets, due to the intense fire it suffered that made its once hardened bones to lose its toughness.

"Finally found you guys. It sure did took us a while," Killua said, rolling the string of his yo-yo as the item spun in a dashed circle beside him. He tossed his yo-yo then, shooting it for the head of the skeletal ape, however, even for its immense injury, the skeletal ape reacted quickly, moving its head just in time to avoid the direct strike, and with added resolve, unhinges its burnt through jaw of several jagged sharp teeth and bites down the string.

"Damn!" Killua attempts to pull it, but even for this highly injured skeleton, it did not relent. Gon sprung forward, revving up a fist to its side, but the skeletal ape saw the boy's approach, and in an expertly performed swerved with its practically now brittle body, send forward a might swing of its arm and fist.

"Look out-!" Emma started her aim of the bow and arrow in hand and Garou with his own expression of alert.

Gon narrowly dodges the skeletal ape's punch by jumping to the side, springing forward into a brief jump at the height of the ape, and swung a tough kick, knocking its head into further breaking, and forcing its jaw to drop and release Killua's yo-yo string, having the young ex-assassin to be returned of its weapon back into his grasp with a single pull.

As the boys dealt with the skeletal ape behind Emma and Garou, the first skeletal beast that stood in front of them acted and they turned quickly back to it.

The skeletal ape fingers shoved into the ground, and with a mighty pull, breaks a large chunk of the ground, and hurtles it towards them. Garou immediately and at this point a common action that he essentially does so casually much to Emma's own surprised bemusement of it - lifted the little girl by the back of her vest and takes her aside, the boulder however extends for where Gon and Killua were, and with a leapt while Emma hangs by her back-vest at his grip, he kicks the boulder with incredible power, and the boulder was pushed aside, and pushing himself aside as well.

"Still willing to lend me that arrow, kid?"

Out of her frazzled state of being picked up with such ease once again, Emma looked up at Garou, and then back down at the arrow she held, the first of her remaining five arrows. Gripping the stick in her hand as Garou sets her down carefully, his sharp eyes remained on the furious ape that was howling to the sky of the mountain's interior, she offers the arrow to him and he takes it quickly, secretly, before the skeletal ape before them would figure out their intention.

She started to say something, but Garou cuts her off with a blunt "Alright, now get going where your friends are."

Seeing the battle between the heavily injured skeleton ape that still held enough power to fight the agile Gon and Killua. There was a heavy hit against Killua's blocking arm at the burnt beast's wild swing of its arm, a pain grunt evident in the boy's expression but was protected by his Nen from any severe damage to his limb. Emma was startled at the sight, a quick glance back at Garou's back as he did not offer to look back at her, having firmly said enough.

Emma affirmatively frowned, "...Okay."

The first skeletal ape before them begun its next move, and with a terrible roar for vengeance, it launches itself for Emma and Garou. Emma started her run for Gon and Killua, and Garou stood his ground, facing the creature head-on, baring fingers as his wolf-like fangs, he swiftly moved away, avoiding the direct attempted throttle of the skeletal ape that smashed against the earth.

"You're tough, nothing but brute force," he delivered swift, fast-paced, and brutal punches to the side of the wild skeletal ape, breaking the tough bones under his fists, "But that's all you have. No technique whatsoever. No subsistence at all."

The enchanted arrowhead gripped in between his fingers, breaking off the stick until he was left with just the magic-imbued stone, his arms flowed calm river streams, and his fist burst through. "You're gonna have to do better than that."

He punched and broke through the rib cage of the skeletal Yasha Ape several times over, a performance of his mixed martial arts of unrelenting hits. The ape stubbornly endured, and swung its arm for him, but a mere duck spared himself from being grappled, and with the arrowhead poking out between the fingers of his clenched fist, delivers a powerful uppercut, the heels of his feet pressing against the ground for boost. He immediately lets go of the arrow as it sticks underneath the bone jaw of the skeletal ape, and his hand shot back as a burst of flames exploded the head of the skeletal ape.

**Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist!**

With a broken arm and hand, he simply used his unbroken ones. It was not as affected without the full use of both arms, but it was enough. Razor sharpness from his cutting fingers that tackled the body of the screaming ape, and immediate silence as its head weakens considerably from the direct hit of the fire arrow, and a sudden pierce from his knife-like fingers that slices through the bone neck of the skeletal ape, it was an incredible tough beast that no mere cut of a meager weapon can actually do no more than stab into the bone, but weakened by flames of the enchanted arrow, Garou's attack swiftly diced through the neck and rest of its body like cut up sticks of vegetables, his fingers his kitchen knives, as sharp and quick as the movement of a katana sword.

The burning head of the skeletal ape tumbled over, crumbling into bits of ashes, the body of the monster that had been pushed far, limped, dropping to its knees and then ultimately crumbling under all of the bone-breaking attacks, and becoming nothing but piles of smashed femurs, humeras, ribs and all, laying defeated the remains of the skeleton ape, as it is eaten away by the reaching walls of flame around them.

"HAH!" Gon punches the blocking arm of the second skeletal ape, pushing it back by a few feet as its feet drags against the ground in durable brace, even in it's completely burnt state. Emma rushes around the ape, finding any opening she can achieve, but if the skeletal ape's reaction are just as quick as the Undeas Yasha Ape, then these arrows will prove to be useless, and she may have to switch to her rifle.

It's likely to be effective now, given the state of the skeleton beast before them, but she must ensure this while Gin and Killua were not at direct confrontation against the skeletal ape, and be in the way of her firing. Even for their power, she can't imagine how much strain these boys are undergoing, considering their expressions to the tough injured beast before them. It was so comparably reminiscence to their fight against Garou, except he had been more agile than this current monster.

Killua lands beside her, having been forced back by the skeleton ape's strength, yo-yo in both hands. Emma looked over to the young ex-assassin, and the back at the beast. "It's weak to fire," she says, "With the enchanted arrows that the Kijin chief gave me, we can win this, but its reaction are fast, it'll just stop the arrow from hitting it."

"Then we need to distract him somehow... " Killua responded, rubbing his chin after barely getting a graze from one of the skeletal ape's hits.

Emma thought persistently, and then she glanced down at the yo-yo Killua held. "How accurate are you at hitting something with that."

Killua noted her stare at the weapons in his hand, "Pretty accurate. If I could get a good shot in, but if this ape is anything like the last one, it might also stop it from hitting it. Well, it's injured now so it might be worth a shot."

"I have an idea."

Killua takes heed of Emma, a look at her assured face. He honestly thought to suspect, but there was a calm intellectual sense in her determined eyes, and he had to at least hear her out, "What do you have in mind?"

Gon endures another punch at his arm, this time, his Nen have weakened considerably as he tries to keep his focus. While it was nothing more than a hit that wouldn't leave him a bruise, it was still a hurtful attack to his physical being and as he landed back, he grimaced with a wince, "Ow..." He rubbed his punched arm.

The burnt skeletal ape starts its stagger for the boy when he heard a whish of something heading for its head, and the beast turned, and grasped the arrow just before its point of carved runes pierced its head. The injured skeletal ape sees Emma with brave, intense eyes and her bow held up, and it growled for her, making its way towards her now.

But then it hears another sound, a sharp zip of a string as it turns its head, and with its other hand, grasped the yo-yo just before it crashed into its head, bearing with the heavy ton it weighed, enough for its hand to crack, down to its wrist and further.

"Got you."

The skeletal ape heard, and saw Killua suddenly appeared around its side, out from its Zetsu form and with his presence unveiled, he swung forward his left hand, and his second yo-yo shots forward. With the burnt skeletal ape's occupying both hands that grabbed both attempted attacks, it lifted one of its hand that was coming for the side of its head to block.

But the strength of the yo-yo that Killua infused with an extension of his Nen, made the yo-yo even stronger, and breaks through the hand, and pushing the arrowhead to stab into the side of the skeletal ape's head. An explosion of fire ignites within the skull and outside of the beast and the skeleton monster screamed. Killua forced back the return of his yo-yos as the ape flailed around from the fire it once again intakes.

A sudden grasp of a hook at its ankle, Gon saw his opportunity, quickly catching up to the plan Emma and Killua had conducted and acted to help them. Fists that relaxed as he grabbed his fishing rod again, he swung for the fishing line to extend, and captures around the ankle of the skeleton beast. With a Nen-infused strength into his whole body, he pulls the fishing rod, and the skeletal ape tripped.

"Got it!" Gon declared.

"Now Killua!" Emma shouted. Killua jumped a big height over the head of the fallen skeletal ape, and with his retrieved yo-yos, he throws them down with a yell of exertion, and the pair of dangerous toy-like weapons hits the skull of the skeletal ape, breaking through the bone, smashing it completely. Emma follows up, pulling her next arrow, and releases.

The body of the skeletal ape was swarmed by fire instantly, this time, the ape lost its power to scream, the light in its eyes instantly vanished as the urgent biting flames ultimately surrounds it once again, and evaporates what was left of its already brittle body, making it become nothing more than ash.

Killua drops back down with an easy landing, the children went up close to the pile of ashes, an accomplished feeling settled in Gon and Killua's hearts, while Emma's was filled with only sorrow. But, she was happy that her friends are safe now.

They quickly turned back for the other remaining ape in the area, but have found and witnessed Garou's own quick defeat of the skeletal ape, and he had turned to see the result of the children's own work.

_We did it..._ Emma thought to herself in relief. But the excitement was not done yet, as they all hear heat blasts igniting from the other side of that crushed through hill.

Emma and Garou were reminded of the armored person who had come and stopped the direct attack of the Greymon, Gon and Killua looked over to where they here, and even see the smokes of the ruckus. "Another monster nearby? Or is that another competitor?" Killua questioned openly.

Rather than answer, Emma sprinted for the direction. Her abrupt run surprised Gon and Killua. "Emma? Where are you going!" Gon goes after her, with Killua following behind. She passes by Garou who averted his gaze from the distant and unseen fight for her form that boldly moves towards the open direction, the path that freed them from this large circle of flames. Well, not like there were any place else to get out through from here.

"There was someone else before you guys showed up!" Emma explained to Gon and Killua. "Come on! He might need our help-!"

Of course, when they arrived, it was debatable just how much help he needed. As by the time they found the rescuer Emma claimed. **"Pegasus Meteor Fist!" **They see him send forth another devastating and powerful punches. Several attacks in a seemingly single action, like literal meteors tackling the body of the roaring Greymon. With such speed that Emma's eyes could not keep up with, and neither could Gon and Killua; not without accessing their Gido, which even then they could barely grasp it, and Garou...

_Holy..._ His sharp eyes widened, _His punch... no, his punches... That was for sure several hits he just threw at once._

Like a hundred punches in a second. They were faster than Death Gatling's use of his Gatling Gun, for that amount of punches done in under such an impossibly short time, this guy would compete with the accomplishment of Flashy Flash. Gon and Killua had similar thoughts, they have met strong men, but none like this one with this kind of power, especially one who looked no older than they were.

Emma had no way to tell as much as the rest, all she could see that Seiya had thrown a single punch, and the aftermath of the monster was as if it had been attacked over and over and over, that was what she came to conclude, but even her own mind could not keep up with the sheer superhuman ability that this person performed, a knight in shining armor, but with his arms his sword, the strength to punch this dinosaur size beast as if he were a superhero, warriors of justice with incredible powers she's read about in Gracefield.

"AAAAAAAAARRRHHHH!" The mighty warrior roared back, and he sprinted pass the Greymon with a final punch. The monster stood still, and then, it slowly descended, and fell with a drop of its body that quake the ground, his back facing its defeated form.

Seiya sighed briefly, picking up his fist and unclenching it, "What a tough creature. Well, not like I haven't faced strong guys before."

He turns at the acknowledgement of his far away observers. "I heard some noises back there! Are you guys alright?"

"Y-yeah!" Emma started, her eyes glistening in pure wonder. "That was amazing! You- you actually defeat that giant monster by yourself!"

To punch a dinosaur right in its face by the hand of a human boy, her younger siblings would be thrilled to hear that she had witnessed such a thing. Gon joined her wonder, throwing his arms with a wide smile of amazement as he and Emma rushed for the man. "Awesome! That really was awesome! Who are you?"

Killua did not held that same enthusiasm as he quickly follows after Gon, though clearly interested, he remained wary of the stranger. The armored boy responded, "I'm Seiya - Pegasus Saint Seiya. And you? What are your names?"

He started his walk towards their direction, his eyes surveying the area for any other threat nearby. At his closing approach, Emma noted just how young he really looked and is, brown eyes full of passion and strength, and a body that looked to have been worked for most of his life. The silver armor he wore having a beautiful glint, he looked just as dashing of a knight as she last saw that blonde girl in a blue dress from her first night of the Preliminary.

"I'm Gon! These are my friends, Emma and Killua," Gon introduced themselves.

"Nice to meet you. You guys are other competitors, right? if you're in a place like this," Seiya said, regarding each younger before meeting Emma's eyes, smiling as he waved his hand in greeting. Emma snapped out of her awe and reactively returned the wave with her own.

"Yeah, that's right," Emma answered, "Well, I might not be as strong as everyone else here, and you're definitely one of the strongest people I've ever seen!"

Gon looked at Seiya's armor outfit curiously, "The way you're dressed, are you a superhero?"

Seiya smirked, "Heh. I guess I do look the part, don't I? Well, you wouldn't be wrong," he then placed a hand over his chest. "I'm a Saint. A warrior of Athena who fights and stops anyone who thinks they can get away with causing any trouble."

"You sure you're not just a nerd whose way into costumes and superheroes?" Killua asked.

"If that were true, than I might just be the biggest fan in the world whose dedicated to the act," Seiya snipped back in equal forthright. Killua was impressed, though he still found it weird for anyone to wear that over excessive get up, even for a purposed armor, there were some exposed areas on the body that should be guarded.

"Athena... that's the name of the Greek Goddess of War," Emma asked, recalling what she read from the mythology books Gracefield library had.

"That's right," Seiya commended with a nod, "That's the same goddess us Saints follow, serving justice under the name of..." His eyes suddenly softened, and then hardened as if to erase whatever thoughts were behind that gaze. Emma caught it though, that gaze of his that seemed...

"Athena huh? I think I've heard of her too," Killua said. "Still doesn't explain how you're so strong though. Unless you're the kind who's going to tell us that your Goddess gave you those power."

"Well you sure got a smart mouth, don't you?" Seiya responded in similar blatancy to the deriding boy. "For the record, I got this strength through training, a hellish kind of training. One that I would have died if I didn't have the drive to keep going."

"You punching dinosaurs part of that training?" Killua asked sarcastically.

Seiya huffed a light laughter, "No, but I know people that could easily man-handled monsters like these with no problem."

"Wow!" Gon said, "Was all that raw power then? I could've sworn I saw you use energy blast though."

"You were able to see that?" Seiya said, revealing a little bit of his surprise, "You guys are another few people I've met who could catch something that quick-"

As they talked, Garou remained somewhat afar and silent as he observant, his eyes especially focused on the young armored fighter. This obvious enough, hero for justice.

The sort of hero he hunts.

He was badly injured with a fractured arm and wounded shoulder, but he can't let this opportunity slip away. Plus, since he has already been exposed, even while the armored fighter paid him no mind, he can't let himself be walked away from as if he posed no threat, he would never let himself live it down. It was already too late to try and recover on his own terms, he has to follow it through now that he's been seen.

_This kid ain't a joke. _Garou thinks to himself with an eager grin. _There really are tough people participating in this competition. I really hit the jack-pot!_

There have been only a couple of competitors he was able to clash with that he did held some impression towards, including that man with the deadly touch. He fought against a red-orange haired teenager who could summon weapons out of thin air. A dark hair male with a shield over his arm. A girl wearing a red hood and a gun-wielding scythe, and a few others - be it good or bad impression, one that helps him evolve, and the other that aggravated him not just for the person's lack of strength to test his own, but their character as well.

He met someone once in the beginning week who told him their wish was to get a lifetime supplies of _cheeseburgers_. _CHEESEBURGERS!_ Who the hell would waste a wish for something like that?! It was unbelievable what sort of people were actually invited to this competition. He could feel pity for those who wanted to take the short cut and have whatever problem they have solved easily with just a simple request. But cheeseburgers?! Garou likes food just as anyone else would, but wasting a wish for it was just its own level of insanity, and he showed absolutely no mercy.

Now this, this was someone who can push him to his _limits_. And if Garou can beat people like this guy, then he'll be all the more prepared to face off against the strongest heroes of his worlds, and he'll be all the more closer to make true to his vision. For the earth he's about to ignite terror into the hearts of everyone.

His steps started moving before he would give it another thought. His mind was set, he will take this chance now while it was still fresh, while Seiya and Killua were in some belittling exchange that amused the armored fighter, Gon still spouting awe and questions towards the person of similar age as theirs, and Emma glancing away from the three, an enlightened face as she separates herself from the group. As Garou drew closer, his eyes only focused on the Saint. It was time to push himself to his truest, bear with the pain and injury. This was not a moment to miss, _and he must attack-_

A pressure against his stomach, not the persisting eruptive pain, but something warm that wrapped around his waist, stopping Garou in his tracks, his eager insanity erased to blank confusion, and he looked down. Her head of orange, frazzled strands was all he sees, pressed against him in an embrace. His plan of intention and overall thought ceased, a wide-eyed peculiarity as his hand that has been scratched by the various battles steadily is raised and hovered over her.

She removed her pressing face from his stomach, and while still hugging him, she smiled the most genuine smile at him. "You fought really amazingly too."

He stared down at her almost incomprehensibly, a hard blink in slow comprehension.

"I never got to say," she suddenly said. "All this time you kept me from getting hurt or killed."

His thoughts came to, a memory of his action that stopped the fist of the Undead Yasha Ape from reaching her. Uh oh. He realized as he saw her appreciative soft look. A look he definitely did not want.

His hand reaches down, putting it in between himself and her in a separation, and gently pushes her away as she releases him quaintly. His focus immediately shifted onto her, the action she had done throwing off his entire game and having him forget momentarily about the person he was about to hunt right ahead of him, and yet here she stood there in the way with that smile on her.

"From that zombie ape," she started, "those other skeletons, even when we first met, when you fought off that snake monster, and all the other times too..."

Oh this is not good. This was not at all what he had intended to do. She completely misunderstood him and those times he helped spared her from a brutal fate.

"It's true that we were out to get our stars, but you really came through for us when we need it." Her adoring smile widening that it made her eyes shimmer, she then reached the very words that spelled doom to his being unless he silenced her now. "Thank-"

His hand swiftly covered her mouth. Emma nearly stepped back in startle, looking up at him in innocent confusion.

"Don't get the wrong idea." He started gravely, so visibly disturbed by her it was a wonder if he was staring at some sort of abomination. "It's not like I did any of that for you. I just figured it be bad if you happen to die and your friends would pin that on me. They would have just left me here to fend for myself while they can get out of this valley."

Emma blinked at him as he removed his hand from her and asserted, "I wasn't helping. Don't think I was. This was just keeping up with our arrangement, that's all." He retreats his hand from her mouth._ Damn, that made my stomach turn, and it sure wasn't from the pain._

Emma glanced down in thought, "Hm. But still though, tha-"

"Atbabababa!" Garou cuts her off with a wave of his index finger. "None of that, alright? I'm not having it and I don't want it, so keep it."

"Ah...OH RIGHT!" She sprung up from her feet with sudden urgency, "Your arm! And your shoulder too! We need to get those treated now!"

Killua looked back. A sort of spoken exchange between Emma and Garou, a questionable reaction when Garou slapped over her mouth as if she was about to poison him with words. She fumbled for her backpack as Garou stares dumbly at her and she pulls out and waves a tape of wrappings for him.

Seiya also glanced aside as he answered Gon's eager and curious-filled questions. Watching as Emma insisted the tape wrappings for the silver haired fighter, an inquiring eye to the older teen's physique, and instantly knew a fighter of physical combat at a glance. His eyes narrowed as just a brief moment, he had looked away from Gon, _Just then, I thought I saw that guy walk towards me..._

He watches as Garou slowly and wordlessly accepted the wrappings, not as if he had no better sense to deny it, and starts tying around his broken arm, with how he presents himself that seemingly carried no pain, it was a surprise that he even had an injury if that stiff limb and that bleeding shoulder wasn't anything to go by.

For a moment there, it seemed like that guy wanted a fight. _Was it just my imagination?_

"I don't think I got that guy's name. Is he alright?" Seiya asked. Gon takes a gander at Garou.

"Oh. OH! He's actually really injured!" Gon actually took a look of the older teen and finally realized his state of being, much to his own shock.

Killua nonchalantly shrugs, "Yeah, but with how that guy's holding up, he barely acts like he has anything. I'm sure he'll be fine."

Their answers and the demonstrated calm tending to his wounds, tells Seiya the level of endurance and tolerance this silver-white haired competitor has, and knew at once.

_Di-ding! Di-ding!_

The announcing bells rung around them. Their eyes immediately shoot for the noise, and spotted an approaching, floating-paced object from above. On the defensive as Garou finished wrapping his wounded shoulder and covering the obvious bite marks that quickly bleeds through the bandages, they visually examined the creature.

It was about the size of no bigger than their heads. A white chubby mouse, almost beetle-like thing with round ears, tiny black eyes, and a smile of sharp teeth that reached its pink cheeks, a short tail at its wider bottom.

**"[Attention all competitors. Attention all competitors],"** The creature echoed mechanically, as if something speaks through it, **"[This is a message delivered to you by the Koyemshi Announcer of the Competition Between Worlds Event]."**

Its lack of hostility had them settled slightly, and they observed with captured interest.

**"[There are five hours remaining until the end of the Preliminary. The End Points have been set through various locations, and multiple directions have been implanted to lead all competitors to nearest End Point]."**

It further explained, **"[****If you have collected the required number of five stars or above, go to the End Point where you will be transferred to the next area, and your place in the competition will be official. For all those within Beast Valley, please exit and locate the nearest End Point. If you do not reach the End Point before the time ends regardless the number of stars you have achieved, you will not be accepted into the next area and will declare your loss]."**

The Koyemshi then flew off towards another direction. Seiya's eyes narrowed in thought, and he looks to the people with him, "You know a way of getting out of this valley?"

Gon assured with a nod, "Yeah. We actually have a way-"

Killua immediately clumped his hand over Gon's mouth before his friend might end up spilling the rest of their secrets. "Do you ever think before you say anything that might screw us over?!" He harshly whispered.

Gon pushes Killua's hand away and frowned, "Eh? But this guy helped Emma and Garou, so he's obviously someone we can trust."

Honestly, that simple mind was both Gon's best and worst quality. There were plenty of reasons why anyone would go out of their way for someone else, and the reason being that it was done so out of the goodness of the heart was a rare one, plenty ulterior motives that may believe the person being saved might provide some uses to be done later on.

But then, of course, neither Gon or Killua had been here before this person, so Killua couldn't say what reason Seiya had, other than if Seiya thought himself righteous, or an honest soul like how Gon would be, even in situations where he shouldn't for his own sake. But Killua doesn't know Seiya that well to tell for sure.

Seiya raised a brow at them, amused yet again, "Well, if you already got it covered, then I better get going."

Hearing his word of his self-leave, Emma hurries back to Seiya with the joy-killed mood of the silently baffled Garou behind and in one place. "Wait! Do you need help escaping this place?"

"Ngh-!" Killua's shocked gaze towards Emma. Right, he forgot there were two _simple-minded _people here.

Seiya smiled kindly at Emma, "I'll be fine. I actually here with a few others. I should go find them," He send another quick glance at Garou, a glance Garou caught, and Seiya referred to the other children. "Look out for each other, I'll be seeing you in the next round then."

Garou's eyes widened as he reached out, "Hey, hold-"

But Seiya had already kicked off, dashing with ease to the edge of the cliff they were at, and easily reaching the other one, running across the stone exterior and into another forest ahead. He instantly felt dumb at having let himself be distracted and his opponent get away from him. Ah... oh well. Might have been better this way since he's not in a total good shape. He'll just have to look out for that armored fighter next time.

_Seiya huh? I'll remember that._ He mentally marked the name on his hunting list.

"Whoa..." Emma sounded her amazement as she watched Seiya's leap and leave as if it were so easy. Gon tapped her by the shoulder and her gaze turns to him.

"So we have only five hours left before the Preliminary finishes," he said with a grin, "We're making good time. We all have our five stars now. If we reach the End Point, we'll be able to enter the competition as official competitors."

She registered those words and her amazement reimbursed its glow in her eyes. It was true, with the amount of stars they have, they should qualify, which means they have a shot, a chance for her and her friends to save the people waiting back in their individual worlds. But they must escape Beast Valley first, which means...

Gon reaches the side of his backpack, and reveals the remaining Support Card they have on them; **Instant Travel**. Their key to leave this place unscathed.

"Are you ready?" Gon asked her. Emma looked to Killua, Garou exiting his intense thinking and approaches them. She then faces Gon again, and nods.

With the affirmation from Killua, and the silent but close proximity of Garou. Gon then lifted the card, "Alright then. Here we go! **Instant Travel - On! Take all four of us outside of Beast Valley!**"

The Support Card glowed in reaction to Gon's command, and with a flicker of instant light, all four of them were cascaded in white. In a flash, they vanished from sight, a dash of a glowing blue orb shooting for the top of the mountain ceiling, passing the solid exterior like a ghost bullet, and leaving the wake of the lively plane of all roaring beasts and powerful monsters lay reign.

/.\

At another white flash, they appeared upon a new area. Emma was disorientated by the literal instant teleportation that had taken them from one place, then suddenly the next. Well, not that it was anything to complain about, it was good and quite incredible just how immediate the Support Card was. For Garou, it was mildly so, shrugging it off like nothing more than an itch to his head.

"Are we outside of the valley?" Killua observed their surroundings, blue-white stones around them. "This doesn't look like the forest where we came through, and the air's kind of thin. No wait, did we-?"

Gon gazes around, and at one place he spotted, a ledge over some rugged stones, he runs over there. Killua follows after him, then Emma and Garou trailing after.

Gon climbed up the stones and looked ahead, Killua climbs up next to him, and then Emma. "Ah! This is-!" Gon exclaimed, as Garou also comes up and looks for himself, and matched the other children's surprised eyes.

Below the sun, they see the vast orange-red desert below with its several attributes of stacks square rocks all over the place. Several distant figures walking across it, and some flying overhead, all traveling towards the same direction. Some in groups or pairs, and others by themselves, with seemingly shapes of creatures walking beside some of them as well.

They looked down further, and see a long, long way down, jagged rocks and unsafe ledges and few paths, and a far descent to the unseen bottom, defining their exact position.

The near summit of the mountain.

They hear the whoosh of a flying carpet and spotted to their right, the familiar boy of blue hair and white turbo hat, joined flying alongside by the girl riding on her winged staff, the yellow winged lion cub clutching her shoulder, and other sharing the white fabric that carries them across the air, and down below where the other ant-size travelers were. They spotted another figure flying across the air, with wings or with some contraption of some kind that lifts them through the sky, and living creatures they ride upon.

"Other competitors?" Emma asked as she looks at the grand view around and below towards the becoming setting sun, her green eyes glimmering she would not know how to accurately describe the sheer wow-ness she felt at everything happening before her own witness. "There's so many of them."

Humans and the like, all heading for that same path, all moving for the same goal, all likely to have wishes being carried in their hearts.

Garou huffed, "That's an understatement." He said as he recalled the exact number of participants that have applied here. A large number of people he has to get through, well, if he intends to become the main enemy of his world, then this number should be a cinch. A good prep of what's to come and how he shall handle it once he returns to his world.

A disruption to the lovely viewing by Gon's abrupt scream, grasping his own head in dawning dismay. "AAAAH! I should have said to take us all to the nearest End Point! Darn it! We're going to waste so much time getting down from all the way up here!"

Ah. Yes, _transfer to the nearest End Point_, that would have been a better way to put it, than the simple request of "take us outside of the mountain," which naturally led to a random selection. Thankfully they haven't been transported to anywhere dangerous, at least, not until they have to get down from this very, very high-up mountain.

Emma consoles Gon, "It's okay. We're out of Beast Valley anyway. We just need to get down now." Which is usually a terrible feat to overcome even with how many hours they have left, at least, if Emma had been unaware of the sort of people she is currently with. She had a feeling it wouldn't be much trouble for them at all, which only leaves her to catch up.

"Yeah, she's right," Killua glances at the below, "It might take us a while though, and who knows if there's anything dangerous that might be hiding down there."

"Don't worry," Emma shows the monster tracker in her hands, "With this, we can get down from this mountain. You are right though that it might take us a while, but we managed to get this far. I know we can overcome this too!"

Invigorated by Emma's optimism, Gon agreed highly, "Right! Let's do this!"

Seeing that they literally have no other choice, Killua nodded along, "Yeah. This shouldn't be a problem for us now. Not after the things we've been through up till now."

"Hmph," a quiet huff from Garou as he side-glances the three children beside him, their enthusiasm to pass this next obstacle. The three children then "Osu!" and thus, they all began their climb down from the hill.

/.\

Emma takes the lead downward with her tracker in one hand and the other granting her support as she carefully yet adeptly climbs down the steep stones beneath her feet as Gon, Killua, and Garou followed behind. It was a trek down from this tall mountain that lasted for three hours. Meaning that only two hours is what remained until they reach the nearest End Point. But they were making good time.

And then several monsters had emerged from the rocks, essentially beasts that wore rugged sharp stones on their bodies. At that point they started to diverge their intended path and sprinted elsewhere to avoid direct confrontation. Yet without much choice, they were spotted and then chased, large boulders tossed for them as they rushed for the bottom. They hustled down and up the uneven mountainside. There was no purpose to fight these monsters outright except out of self-defense, they cannot waste any more time, especially to face against these many monsters with an injured member and while the deadline grows ever closer.

Their constant fleeing through the uneven slope until eventually reaching the forest, where the monsters stopped their pursuit, never intend to move beyond their territory. Over an hour have already passed, and the sun was falling ever closer behind the horizon.

**"[Attention all competitors. There are fifteen minutes until the Preliminary ends. Please reach the nearest End Point]."**

"Dammit! Those monsters killed most of our time!" Killua scorned, as they rush through the forest.

Emma was sprinting with all her might as Gon and Killua took the lead, "We can still make it!" She said. Twenty minutes, it was manageable, it was still possible!

A sudden grapple around her waist and her feet were off the ground, startled, she picked up her head and discovered Garou, carrying her as if she were luggage and he quickly picked up his speed. She grasped his uninjured arm out of surprise. Her face contorted to immediate worry, but he held an impassive face that took no glance at her way.

"You're going to need more than just enthusiasm to reach far, kid," He told her bluntly. She adjusted to his hold that was honestly a more preferable hold than being yanked around by the back of her vest. Emma braced through his carry, another warmness of her smile that Garou does not eye down to see - otherwise sparing him of her appreciation he would have denied having.

**[Ten minutes remaining].**

They quickened their pace. Exiting the forest, their fleeting figures that could match and beat that of a healthy and athletic horse. They passed through several signs, Challenge Boards they have missed but the monster lists having been scrapped and replaced with an arrow directing towards someplace labeled as the **End Point**. The distant sun closing at its horizon. They ran for quite some time, not a single sight of another person that had been here, which means most of them have already passed through the End Point, and all that remains was themselves.

**[Five minutes remaining].**

"If everyone's gone already, then it should be close!" Gon said with certainty as they hurried through the now empty desert, the glow of the sun losing its light from the rest of the land, its sinking behind the earth following the count-down. They searched and searched, running, jumping to the stacked large rocks around them for better view, to see something that the other competitors had just went, following the planted instructive signs, resuming that direction that they saw the other competitors went towards. Emma being hogged along though she does her best to look as she remained being held around the waist by Garou.

"I see something! Over there!" Killua shouted from one of the tall-stacked rocks, pointing to the direction where they nearly ran passed. From a distant, at the vacant edge of the red desert, there was a glow right before the setting sun. A blue glow that stood out from the light and color of the sun, a rectangular shape like a sort of door, with nothing but light that awaits inside.

"It's all clear. Let's go now!" Emma encouraged in Garou's hold with a high voice, clutching the Monster Tracker in her hands. Her carrier darkly glared ahead.

"About time. Lets see what else this competition has to offer," With a bout of vicious energy, Garou then dashed forward the same time as Gon and Killua. Imbued by their Nen, the boys remained just ahead, sprinting and pushing themselves to reach the End Point.

**[One minute remaining].**

The End Point became all the more closer, the setting sun and its darkening sky making its glow all the more apparent. The path where everything else awaits, in this competition between worlds, of other strong and clever competitors, of other people of every variety and capability. Emma braces herself close to Garou's side as she bared through the speed from Garou's incredible fast run, her eyes squinting to peer pass Gon and Killua, as they dashed for the placed glow that will lead to the next area.

**[Thirty seconds remaining].**

The last remaining competitors. Rushing towards the End Point with every intention burning in their feet. The same point numerous have since passed.**  
**

**[Ten seconds remaining].**

The people from several worlds, of countless ambitions, all for a singular goal that will help achieve their wishes, or other interests.**  
**

**[5].**

The official upcoming of several rounds, extended for those determined to pursue.

**[4].**

For all its participants, the preparation to the start of everything.

**[3].**

_Norman. Ray. _A heart filled with hope, Emma looks to the finish line of this event, and to whatever trial beyond that gleaming point.

**[2].**

_Everyone. Whatever it takes. For our family's future, and everyone else's. I'll win this._

**[1].**

The countdown reaching its final second, as the setting sun and it's lingering light disappeared behind the horizon. They had successfully pass through the glowing door, and are instantly transported.

**[0].**

The End Point closed, its inviting blue light vanished with a shut. The night fell upon the land, the cooling wind it had just begun, suddenly stilled, and everything was silent.

**[Concluding Preliminary Round. Resetting World... Progressing to the next stage].**

The world started to break apart, grids filled the land and the sky, textures visually and physically dulled into nothing, colors cleared, flickering statics that erases the landscapes, the sky, the animals, and all else that lived here - monsters, villages, all its surroundings.

The fabricated dimension slumbered in infinite darkness, awaiting for its next wake into existence.

* * *

**End of Preliminary Arc**

_A/N: Thus concludes the end of the Preliminary Arc, and the story continues! I honestly feel like this could have been better written but I really wanted to get it out, so I hope it was enjoyable to read. Now I may finally go look into writing the other chapters for my other stories, in the meantime that I shall let this story settle for a while, and better progress future chapters I may plan on making later on._

_**Q&A**_

_**Maxim7**__** :**_ _Yeah, Sakura and Aladdin would fit with the group, at least if it were just Emma, Gon and Killua - Garou would rather go off on his own, be his own group of one man. We may see Sakura and Aladdin sometime in the future. Look forward to it! And as far as I've heard, the Saints have been referenced to be powerful warriors, especially among the Anime community, like really strong._

_I've also wanted to mention that there are actually quite a bit of similarities between Garou and Emma, granted, their experience and personality are vastly different, but they have a bit in common that it honestly surprised me, and that's not to mention the obvious similarities with Emma and Gon. I'd love to get into it, but maybe another time. Also, Garou managed to keep down his Nen - seriously tough dude, but by the next few chapters, well, we shall see what happens..._

_Thank you all so much for reading. Stay safe! And Please leave a Kind and Honest Review, as I crave for so much so that I may better myself as a writer, and also, if I ever need to correct any errors with these currently posted chapters, if there's anything to be spotted, I shall take a look and fix it, will also appreciate any pointers but hopefully, you'll find it intriguing where I'm taking this story._

_I'll likely look back at this chapter and the other chapters and do a bit of rewriting, but for now, I hope you had a fun time getting through the Preliminary Arc, and hopefully, stick around for any more arcs that's coming up. Take care everyone!_


	14. The Wired

_**Cheers to the End of The Promised Neverland Manga series. May everyone hold onto their smiles after the conclusion of a story we'll keep to our hearts.**_

Chapter 14: The Wired

Entering into the End Point doorway, its warm brightness lasted only for a few seconds before they came to a new area, and their feet skidded to an abrupt halt. It was a large, spacious circular room, about fifty-to-fifty yards. A simple room with nothing else but dark gray metal walls and a steel-gray floor with pale white lines that triangulated and across the floor, pointing towards the open and wide corridor that look to go for quite a walk.

They looked around for a little longer, eyes wondering their surroundings, and then the entrance behind them suddenly shuts close like a dropped shutter where they were startled by. A small circular door opened from one of the walls, where a humming noise rattled out, and a spherical grey and black drone floated out a tiny circular front at the center, and a single line around across it. The drone floated towards them, a blue holographic line from the center trails across their bodies in a scan. Emma rapidly blinked when she had looked at it directly and was momentarily blinded.

**"[Emma of Gracefield - Stars Collected: 5.**

**Garou the Human-Monster - Stars Collected: 5.**

**Gon Freecs - Stars Collected: 5.**

**Killua Zoldyk - Stars Collected: 5.**

**You have met the requirements and are approved to be official participants of the Competition Between Worlds. Congratulations on your passing the Preliminary]"** Announced the drone through unseen speakers, **"[Please proceed down the hallway. A staff member will be awaiting there to guide you to the next area]."**

They looked to each other first, Garou keeping his eyes to the hallway before he made the first move for it, and Gon and Killua walked after him. They walk through the corridor that could fit up to perhaps two hundred people at width, and thousands in length. Following along the arrows painted on the ground and on the wall to this singular direction.

"Um. Garou? You can put me down now," Emma asked politely, patting his arm that still carried her around the waist. Garou abruptly stopped and looked at the girl, as if he had forgotten he'd been carrying her, and sets her down. On her feet once more, they continued their walk down the wide corridor, until eventually they came upon the end, where they immediately spotted someone standing there. She was a girl at her teenage years, her hair short and softly pink, a placate yet friendly face with gentle violet eyes behind a pair of spectacles she wore. A black short dress with a white coat over it, a red tie at her center, dark leggings and brown short boots.

She bowed her head at the arriving four, and spoke in a soft, gentle note that it almost sounded monotonous, "Welcome. My name is Mashu Kyrielight. I am one of the workers of this facility."

She pulls back up and her hand gestured towards the other corridor at their left. "Please follow me, I will lead you to another place where you'll be provided food, rest, and treat any injuries you have sustained during the event."

"Oh. So this is an intermission kind of deal. A break between rounds?" Killua assessed, openly aking to confirm.

Mashu nodded, "That is correct. After every round, there is an** Intermission** for all competitors to be given the chance to recover their strengths. The Intermission lasts two days and three nights, including this night. On the third day, there will be a gathering where further information will be given, and the first round will be announced and begin shortly after. Until then, you are all free to prepare and do as you like. If you have any concerns, look for any available staff members here at this facility, and we will provide assistance within our knowledge and authority."

They nodded their understanding, and began their follow of her as soon as the pink-haired girl started her walk down the new corridor. "You're one of the last competitors who managed to arrive just before the End Point closed. Good work," she said in gentle applaud, her clapping soundless and slow.

"Yeah. It really was a close call," Gon breathed out his obvious relief, smiling at Killua and Emma who grinned back his way. Emma, though, was quick to return her observation to her placate surroundings, her habit of examining everything practically kicking at her out of survival instincts, to look out for any type of information deem vital around her. Gon and Killua, and even Garou seemed relaxed though, only few glances to the large hallway with its placate white walls and smooth dark floor.

"How many competitors have made it pass the Preliminary?" Killua asked.

The staff member brought back down her hands and answered, "We have an enormous number of unique individuals this time's competition, all with great skills, assets, and determination. About over three million have been qualified to enter."

"Three million?!" The children screamed out. Garou stared blankly, having heard of the large number beforehand.

"That's so many..." Emma grabbed her head with gawked eyes. Far too many for her to actually fathom the number of people who are here for a single prize.

"It is," Mashu acknowledged, hearing their appalling, "After every round, the number of participants will usually drop drastically, until only the finalists remain - though how many would still vary."

"Well, that explains why this competition would last up to a year, with that many competitors," Killua fathomed, mentally agreed with by the others.

"The competition will introduce every competitor with challenges and obstacles of all variety," Mashu continued, listing off rules and other forewarned expectations, "including opposition between competitors in direct combat, a battle of wits, or any other manner of contests."

She then passively bid the competitors behind her, "I wish you all the best efforts in future events."

_So we _do_ eventually have to compete that way... _Emma comprehended with sad eyes. It was long suspected, and yet, she'd hope it would not be so. She'd rather not fight against anyone, even for something as needed as the wish.

"Hmph. Just the kind I was hoping for," Garou said with a little breath of anticipated laugh.

"Is it true that we get a wish if we win?" Gon asked curiously and for confirmation.

Mashu responded with a nod, "Yes. All competitors will be elaborated on that matter sometime before the next event begins, and what the requirements are to win the competition and the wish."

She then added with a subtle emphasis. "In the meantime, please take care of those stars. I can't explain at this moment, but those stars will be important. If during your stay here you lose one or all of your stars, don't worry. Since you have already been accepted into the competition, your standing will only vary upon your results in the first official Round, and rounds thereafter."

_So these stars have something to do with our place in the competition..._ Emma and Killua easily concluded. There were reasonable implications to what exact manner that these stars held some importance to, one that actually seems almost obvious, and yet, there could also be several other variables to this.

"For the duration of the Intermission, you will be assigned dormitories, and access to any available resources provided in individual stations," Mashu informs as they were approaching an arched entrance up ahead, wide enough for a parade to walk through. "There are certain guidelines that must be followed, however. Throughout the Intermission, you are not to cause harmful or destructive disruptions at any of these stations, or fight among NPCs or other competitors unless it is within a training field. It is also outright forbidden to kill any NPCs or competitors during the Intermission. There will be warnings and penalties, but for severe actions done without justifications, will be given harsh punishments, and you will either be detained, or disqualified from the competition."

This was a time for all to rest, the act of quelling potential threats will not be stand for until the next round begins. This is what was understood in the words of Mashu, and the children nodded in comprehension. Garou remained attentive, and_ only_ attentive. He knows though that he ought to be careful if he were to come across any heroes or tough-looking opponents by chance. Better keep his eagerness at bay then, at least until the Intermission is over.

"Accepting those terms, and other rules that may be plastered around the stations, you are free to roam around the entire vicinity," she steps beyond the lined floor of the entrance and onto a dark blue surface. "So long as you follow the signs and the maps set around multiple areas, you should be able to find your way around, if not, ask any nearby NPCs and they should be able to help you."

They followed her out, the immediate reveal before them an amazing sight. Emma's jaw hung low, her eyes widened with instant impression of astound. Gon "whoa!"'d while Killua's brows rose, and Garou also takes in the view with a face of surprise.

Mashu approaches the rails as they followed her in suit, "There are over countless stations to provide for you whatever necessities you require, clothes and armors, ammunition, training grounds, food courts serving free meals, activities to alleviate any stress and all else."

She turns to their wowed expressions with a kind smile, and introduces the view behind her with a raised hand. "Here we are; the main setting of which all competitors will live throughout the Intermission - Welcome to the Wired."

Behind her hand that introduces the scene, tall buildings of colorful lights and signs. Numerous towers of these glass-window structures. Moving letters that formed into words that slide across electrical-powered signs, animations as well. Poster boards upon several buildings, promoting products or stores, advertised by beautiful-looking individuals. They joined Mashu at the rails, Garou looking down and over the bars while the children looked through them. Numerous people were walking in and out of the tall buildings and walking across the wide field of stone tiles and paved streets, with benches and signs planted there, heeded by these other competitors below them that carried about them some weapons of blades and guns, dressed as if built for adventure and war this area was populated with.

A city. This is a city. It's even bigger than what Emma and her family believed cities to be!

"-an interconnection between multiple dimension," Mashu further explains the existence of the Wired, "An "in-between" realities, where people from several worlds can walk across the same plane."

"Wow!" Emma said with an at awe gaze.

"Cool!" Gon grabbed and lifted himself up easily from the rails, looking at the buildings before them.

"...huh," Garou simply said. It took him a while to comprehend that this is incidentally a place where_ he's literally not in his world anymore_, and he had to think about that for a while before it actually hit him with a_ holy shit _realization. He does well to keep control of his reaction though. He takes a gander at around themselves, from two direction that they were in between, a wide walk way with some people just entering almost the same time as them, a handful of people, he guessed they were other late comers as well. He then looks behind him.

"Oh." He said in wide-eyed surprise, Emma looked at him when she heard this, which had her looking back, and found what he was staring at and she too let out a surprise gasp, grasping Gon and Killua's attention which turned them to look as well. "Ah!" Gon joined in the surprise, while Killua blinked.

It was, from what they could tell where they were standing from, a massive dome-like facility. Nothing but smooth white walls and reaching several hundred meters high, and multiple entrances at the highest levels down to where they are, which was actually the third level from city-ground. There were pathways, stairways, and what appears to be elevators as well, where other late comers of competitors were also spotted, taking their individual stride down to the lower levels to each wherever their destination in mind.

"That is one of the facilities where staff members like myself occupy," Mashu said as soon as she saw their changed gaze from the city to the building they had came out of. "It is where all of the competitors arrived from the preliminary came out of, and the main exits which competitors will leave through for every conclusion of future events. If you need to speak to someone like me, you can find us here. There will always be someone available to assist any competitor at all times, providing twenty-four hours service, which the same can be said for most of the stations and stores in the city."

"Pretty dedicated," Killua commented lightly. He and the others then felt a calmed-pace presence approaching their side and they all turned at the footsteps.

"Good evening to you all!" A joyous greeting from a joyful looking woman. Her hair a hot-pink with fluffy curled bangs and big twin circled strands tied behind her ears. Her eyes large and a caring blue. She wore a nurse outfit with a white apron and a pink dress underneath, and a nurse hat with a red plus at its center. Her hands were cupped in front of her, and she greeted the competitors with a sunny and friendly smile.

Mashu walked to the nurse woman's side and introduced her, "This is Nurse Joy. She's one of the workers of the medical department. If you require medical assistance, the medical departments will always be within reach of this facility.

The nurse bowed her head, "I'm happy to give whatever service and healing you need. May I see that arm, sir?"

She looked to Garou with a polite request. Garou glanced down at his arm, raising it to examine it up close with a barely clenched fingers, and then wordlessly offered it to the nurse. The nurse steps forward, gingerly taking hold of his arm. "Oh my, this arm is fractured entirely. It's amazing that you could move it still."

She then moves for his wrapped shoulders, "And this wound here. Judging by the blood patterns seeping through the bandages, looks to be a nasty infliction. I'm honestly surprised that you're holding up as much as you are."

Not that it's been easy for him, but Garou decides to keep this fact to himself. The nurse pulls out her own bandage wrappings from the pockets of her uniform, making a cast support for the broken arm with kind and the gentlest movements. Garou allowed her actions wordlessly, attentive to her movements until she was finished, and his wrapped broken arm was now being carried with better comfort he would not have to strain doing by himself.

"We better get you to our hospital right now, and treat these wounds before they could get infected or worse," she added. After checking his injuries, Nurse Joy then looks to the children, "And what about you children? Are any of you hurt?"

Emma and Gon shakes their heads. "We're alright Ms. Joy," Emma politely affirmed. Perhaps a few scratches here and there, but nothing that she couldn't walk off, she was accustomed with these little battle scars during her rough play of the outdoors, and her recent travel through the dangerous woods lived by demons, and there was no severe injuries about here either.

"Please, call me Nurse Joy, it's what everyone calls me," the nurse giggled lightly and then looks to the white haired boy. He waved his hand at her pointed gaze.

"I'm okay too, you don't need to worry about me," Killua said. Nurse Joy made a visual once over of the children, and confirming their truths of their lack of severe injuries aside from some scuff marks they should wash themselves off with, the nurse smiled.

"Well I'm glad that the three of you are unharmed, just be sure to clean up once you find your rooms," she encouraged, and then looks to Garou. "If you will follow me, I'll take you to one of our available doctor."

With an inviting gesture, Garou stares a moment at the direction. Well, might as well, he thinks to himself. He shouldn't turn down an available heal offered like this, it was rare enough back in his world since no one wants to help a patient with a scary face. With this thought, he started his follow of the happily leading Nurse Joy.

Emma, Gon, and Killua watches as their temporary member separates himself from them, the dark fighter they have been tensely cooperating with throughout the last days of the preliminary, now leaving their company. A breath of relief, Killua would say, at least, until they have the misfortune to come across that older teen again. Gon is reminded of the deal he and Garou had agreed upon in exchange to spare them throughout the preliminary, and now with the preliminary over, all that awaits is their fight at any upcoming rounds should they might meet again, he takes to heart not to forget their deal, and looks forward to it with anticipation.

Emma simply watches as the odd young man of vicious streak departs to take care of his wounds. It was good that such help was granted the minute they left the Monster Hunting event, though with a broken arm that normally takes an extensive amount of time to heal, she wonders if he'll be ready for the next round, but considering and remembering his fast healing regenerative ability unlike any human, perhaps he'll be okay, though it's uncertain for her.

She was worried for him, for all the efforts he's done for them, she found him to actually be a decent person. A rough personality for certain, but through all that...

"Would you all wish to see to your dorms? Or would you like to stop by the nearest food courts?" Mashu brings back their attention with this question. The children considered both options.

"Well, we did miss breakfast and lunch," Gon puts a hand over his stomach, feeling its faint rumble. "Hehe. Yeah, I'm kind of a little hungry."

"Yeah. So am I," Emma said, looking down to her belly as she felt its small complaints as well, her hand over it.

Killua, on the other hand, can do well with hunger for a lot longer, but that's to say if he has to, and seeing as how both Gon and Emma were obviously hungry, they might as well go for some food right now, restore their energy after that whole day spent running through an entire valley of monsters and travel down the tall mountain on foot, "Alright, we'll get something to eat and then find our dorms. Is there rooms for me and Gon? We both entered this competition together."

Mashu nodded, "We have a room already assigned for the both of you to share. There will be someone who can help guide you to your rooms."

She moves her hand for a stairway that was ten feet aside from them. "If you all wish to eat, I can guide you three to the nearest food court."

They followed her, just as they made a few steps towards the stairs, Emma abruptly stop. "Oh! Before I forget!"

Gon and Killua halted and looked around in curious perplex. Emma surprised them when she made a full turn, running back quickly. "Emma?" Gon called out to her.

The little girl stopped at a short distance away from Gon and Killua, with an intake of her breath, she picked up both hands as her amplifier, and shouted.

"THANK YOU GAROU!"

Sharp eyes propped opened widely in shock, the sudden stiffness of Garou's body from the words that froze him in place, heard over the noises of the city background and the moving people who some looked in confusion at the shouter. He slowly turned his head, his obvious stupor to the girl far behind him.

"Let's help each other again next time we meet! Get well!" She waves both her arms as she bid the man with a wide smile before running back for the astound-face boys and the patiently awaiting older girl.

"Okay. I'm ready now. Let's go and get some food," said Emma with a glow of her satisfied grin.

"...You really are a weirdo," Killua bluntly told her with the most_ are you even sane?_ face she has ever seen since Ray gave her that very look when she wanted her whole family to escape Gracefield.

"That's mean," Gon chastise Killua with pouted disapproval. "She was just being nice."

"Like that guy even cares about that," Killua said, going down the steps first, "You know he's going to want to fight us the next time he sees us right?"

Emma follows after him, grabbing the rails as they made their way down, Gon following behind her. "Well, yeah..." She said slowly, "but it wouldn't feel right if I didn't thank him for sticking with us as long as he did, and he got hurt from keeping me safe from that zombie ape and those skeletons."

"He did?" Killua asked, actually taken aback as Gon showed his visible surprise as well. It was true that Garou went after the Nevermore, but Killua's best guess was that Garou believed she had her tracker still, and without it, they - more especially him - would have been walking dangerously blind throughout the whole valley. But to have gotten that hurt for it?

"Huh... I guess you might be right about him, Emma," Gon said, smiling.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Mashu asked curiously.

"Uh... sort of...?" Gon offered. If someone was willing to help them, especially help a friend of theirs who helped him and Killua so kindly and generously, then perhaps there was that possibility? Gon still has his mixed feelings of the older teen. As incredibly skillful and strong Garou is, it's not to say that Gon likes the person.

Killua shakes his head, "Not really. He may have helped us, but that doesn't make him a friend. We just managed to get through the preliminary together, that's all."

"Right... he really does kind of remind me of Hisoka," Gon easily concludes. The best example and way of comparison. Neither friends nor enemies - at least not at this moment, and reasonable enough to offer assistance - at least to a point. And more comparatively, their awaited fight for when Gon may re-deliver his attacks against the strong opponent he seeks to fight no matter how much it shakes him inside with instinctual terror.

Killua openly grimaces the undeniably accuracy of Gon's comparison, "I guess that's one way to put it." That might actually be the_ perfect_ way to put it.

Emma has no idea who this Hisoka person was, but if they were comparing him to Garou, he might have also been an odd man as well, but maybe decent too. This, she came to reason. She opts to ask for more elaboration on who this person was.

Mashu was even more confused, watching as the children went ahead down the stairs, and she soon followed them after, her curious look about them remaining, as she can only listen over to their discussion and Emma's given question of the named Hisoka man mentioned.

Garou turned slightly to where the girl had ran off, his gawked gaze prying through his disbelief as she descended down the stairs in follow of her comrades, stopped dead cold in his tracks from just her words. He barely even blinked, mentally rearing after her out of nowhere gratitude that denied his earlier objections to her spoken thank you's.

"Sir?" The wondering eyes of Nurse Joy regarded behind him, having stopped as well when she heard the sudden shout, and noticed the ceased follow of the injured figure with her.

He said nothing, as if deaf to her call. His fingers reaches up and scratches his scalp of an unknown itch through his silver hair, his stomach churning uncomfortably. He quickly turned back around for the awaiting nurse, his thoughts hidden behind a neutral mask of his expression, and walked passes her calmly. Surprised at his sudden movement, the nurse hurries and catches up with him, and after composing herself, happily leads him to the stationed hospital nearby.

/.\

It was utter amazement as Emma looks at the surroundings of the city they walked through. Tall buildings of mainly blue-tinted glass, the white concrete the skyscrapers were built from. She kept close to Gon and Killua as they follow Mashu through several competitors still among the streets. The sky was dark, not a star in sight, likely outshone from the bright lights of the city, yet a longer look of the sky, and one may be able to tell it's illegitimate space - an evident blockage far far far above, made from thin grid lines, as if they were inside a cage, or perhaps that is simply the borders from where they are not to pass beyond.

She lowered her gaze from the sky and to the stations around them that made up most of these buildings. These stations that were actually stores, grocery stores, clothes shops, bars, clubs, and more. Vending machines that served free drinks and snacks against the concrete walls among the sidewalks. Several coffee shops of various themes - cat-loving aesthetics, waitress dressed as maids, and other curious settings over something as simple as serving people drinks. There were also stations for stress-relieving services, such as spas, indoor play grounds from children to adults, petting cute exotic creatures, and other activities meant to satiate any tension from on edge customers that certainly, most of the competitors were.

"-and here we have one of the many artillery store. If you ever need to restock on ammunition, this is a good place to start. Stores like these are also likely to have target practicing areas, but there is a training station available for every competitor to practice in private. A personal training ground. There are also public gyms available throughout the Wired for physical training, and gyms that helps competitors train in mental fortitude as well. Several signs are placed around the city that maps each section of the Wired, but you may also ask any NPC within the area for a specific location you are looking for, and they may point you to the right direction."

Emma takes a long notice of the store, seeing people moving in and out with guns of normal or unique mechanisms and appearance. This sort of place would be well-warranted for her. She wonders if they may have bullets for her specially designed four-barrel pistol? She shall have to take a look at it some other time.

Gon's eyes wandered in utmost curiosity of the surroundings. "This place really reminds me of York City."

Killua hummed in agreement, "Wonder if their training ground is anything like Heaven's Arena?" His wonder lead to his follow up question, "You said that competitors are allowed to spar, so long as we don't try to kill each other, yeah?"

"Yes," Mashu confirmed. "Killing your opponent without justified reasons, such as in self-defense or if to oppose any wrong doings done by another competitor, is a severe penalty. Depending on the circumstances, the punishment will either be incarceration, restricting access to any station within the Wired, a suspension for a certain amount of time before the competitor would be allowed to enter the next event, or disqualification from the competition."

She then added, "If, however, you do witness a violation committed by anyone you witnessed, it is best to inform the authorities, accessed through all available telephones within the area," a gesture to the phone booths around them. "Using one of the phone booths, you can simply dial: zero one one, and you will automatically connect to an operator who will assist you with anything you need. We also have patrolmen working twenty-four hours; day and night, their detainment stations are placed several locations in the city, which are depicted in any of the map signs you may find if you ever wish to speak with a specific officer."

"Are these officers strong enough to deal with any tough competitors around?" Killua asked. He knew and seen news of officers being easily beaten and eaten by the Chimera Ants, and frankly, are people that no matter their training, wouldn't stand a chance against Nen-Users.

"Not all of them, but there are some who are qualified and very capable," Mashu answered. "We also have a group that are specially reserved to subdue and detain those that have been deemed a high-level threat."

The children suddenly stilled at a sensation and arriving noise, like propelling fires at high speed. They looked up and head. A figure of some kind flew across the sky, his red feet blasting fire-like energy that sends him across the air, like a small rocket. His distant figure shot by quickly and around the corner of another building, rushing for whatever destination and disappearing as fast as he had just been seen. Emma was unable to grasp the absolute appearance since it was quite quick and afar, but noticed a dash of black hair, and the figure to be small - child-sized.

"Whoa!" Gon expressed when he saw the small figure soar by. Killua looked on impressed.

"That there you just noticed, he is one of them - the Guardians of the Wired," Mashu referred to that distant and gone flyer. "The Guardians have the authority to quell abrupt and intense violence caused by competitors. They have the ability to oppose or restrain powerful competitors of any level. Should an identified threat be considered too dangerous, the Guardians have the freedom to use any means of arrest, or execution."

Execution? "You mean, they can kill outright?" Emma asked.

Mashu nodded, her peaceful face seeming more controlled, "Yes. It is a means of disqualifying competitors who are causing disruptions that endanger the lives of other competitors and NPCs in this city. Once the competitors perish, they will be returned to their world. This does not apply to all competitors who are disqualified, as they can leave through a transportation system we have set up, this is allowed any time if anyone wishes to forfeit. The manner of killing rogue competitors is a last resort if ever the competitors do not cease their rampage and crimes."

While understandable, even for that reason, Emma found it unsettling to hear it. A group that have the authority to kill if it was deemed necessary, such harsh instances happening in this city.

"Although the guardians have their own way of keeping the peace, they are supervised by a higher authority and will of the Wired. For the most part, they are only given authorization to act as they deem to be appropriate as long as it is within lawful justification."

Killua hummed in thought as he heard that. He expected some quality of management and supervision in a massive-scale competition as this, and the penalties weren't that much of a surprise. It was a lot like the Hunter Exam, with the judges there professional hunters, and possible intervening figures if ever they had to, but for the most part, they keep out of exam-takers ways. Here though, it seems to be a bit more personal in their intervention, which makes sense given the setting that they were in.

They walked further down the sidewalk, passing by both resting competitors and working NPCs. Gon began to pick up the smell of food, one that, which each step, grew stronger and stronger, it almost made his stomach growl. For several more minutes, until eventually they heard increasing noises up ahead, louder with bustling talks and other movements and sounds that were all together in one place.

Passing one more building, they arrive to the scent of endless cuisines of countless varieties.

"This is Food Court R-2, one of the many food courts of the Wired. I hope there's something here that's to your liking," Mashu said.

The sight before them incredible. It was like a massive courtyard, of tables with several chairs at each, and competitors that occupied nearly all of them. The delicious scent of food that was unlike Emma has ever intake, and that which almost overwhelmed Gon's sense of smell even more so now that they arrived. The tables were cluttered or mounted with food, plates with residue and remnants of whatever meal had been done, and picked up by passing janitors as the eater resumes its self-serving banquet while chatting with some friends, many opposing competitors finding mutual grounds between shared meals of delicious tastes.

On each side of the main dining area were wide and tall buildings, wide pathways that extend to the other building as extra floors that also held tables and chairs, where they see more competitors eat at as well. At the sides of the buildings that faced the center of this court, were various fronts of over-the-counter serving restaurants, pouring out steam and noises of preparing and cooking food, NPCs working behind registers behind the counters, and the chefs that can be seen working at their kitchens.

"We have a variety of restaurants that extends to suit anyone's preferences and tastes," Mashu explains, "There are fifty levels of food service here, with plenty of options to choose from at each and every station. We have a breakfast isle available at this hour, a dessert isle, beverage machines, fruit stands, and salad bars set in several places here in the food court. You may also use this service to pack any amount of food you require before the next event begins. Everything is without cost, so feel free to have as much food as you like - but please eat at a considerable pace, and don't overindulge yourself. Eating too fast or too much can be harmful to your body and yourself. The food court will always be supplied with enough meals for everyone to have, and will be open all day and all night, so there is no need to rush."

"Yes Mashu," the children agreed to the considerate gentle teen.

The pink haired girl smiled at the children, her soft voice sounding her pleasant gratitude. Some competitors would have just bolted the minute they smelled and saw the food before she would give them her word of caution. These were very well-mannered children then, or at least, not as glutton-thrilled as many competitors here are. "Good, then go ahead and enjoy your meal."

"Yeah. Thanks for leading us," Gon said to her.

Mashu bowed her head politely, "It's no trouble. If there's anything else you may require, please do not hesitate to come to an associate like myself, or a patrolman you may find around here," She gestures to one patrolmen in blue uniform, standing and observing the area nearby. "Once you are done eating, they will help escort you to your resting quarters. I'll be heading back to the End Point facility now, have a good night."

After bidding them well with another congratulations to their achievement of succeeding the preliminary, Mashu then reverted back to where they had all arrived from and walked. Emma and Gon waved in parting for her, thanking her again as she goes, and seeing her turn back to give another bow of her head before resuming.

"Come on! Lets see what we can find!" Gon eagerly ushered Killua and Emma along, and the two other youngsters followed in suit.

They huddled closely and walked through the openings between the tables crowded with people, many competitors munching their meals happily, gorging themselves with the delicious delicacy. It was such a captive sight for Emma, to see so many humans at once, many grown and young, and many with curious and fascinating traits like animals ears and demonic-like tails worn by those with human faces, and other unique looks. She couldn't help but look and stare, even if she is aware how impolite it would be to gaze at someone too long.

Of course, her impoliteness was the least thing to happen in this court, as she sees many not using much of the table manners her foster mother had implemented in her family for so long, laughing in between eating food and chewing without closing their mouth as they talked, eating chips right from the bag and slurping salsa and drinks loudly, slouching in their seats and elbows on the table - these sightings could give the nameless man and his own bad manners a run for their money. It was also pretty notable just how much there were people here who _really _loved food.

"-gahAW HAW HAW HAW! MEEEEEAT!"

"Hey! Are those rice-cakes? Let me have a bite of that!"

"No way! Get your own!"

"DELICIOUS~!"

It was bustling with joy and savoring of the meals being cooked, it was such a robust court, Emma almost felt overwhelmed by it all. Hills of food that stacked over each dish of enriching warm aroma, people of all physique from well built to big muscles to the leanest of figures, of several ethnicity and appearance, and tables that are serving practically a banquet for a single or two individuals, defining the massive appetite that they have.

Emma was stunned when she spotted someone, more than once actually, eat a big steak that's about the size of her own head in a single bite - and the first time she had seen this was someone who looked so skinny she would think he'd be filled already after that one thick steak taken after one wide chomp, but the red-vest wearing individual, with black hair and a straw hat hanging from his back, just kept eating his own personal banquet with the biggest grin she's ever seen. Frankly, it should be impossible for a single human to eat all that food in one go.

"Emma! Over here!"

She turned back for Gon who waved for her. She made one more amazed look at the people of endless hunger before going for Gon, who he and Millua had managed to find a table for them, having been left by a few other competitors and already cleaned by a janitor nearby. It seemed to be at around near the center of this food court, with seated competitors all around them.

"Check this out! It's a menu!" Gon pulls from the center of the table a thin rectangular device. It was a tablet, an electronic that was the first time Emma has ever seen one, the wonder to alighting her eyes with a quizzled look. Sitting on the white chair of the white round table, with Killua joining beside him on a second chair, Emma goes, pulls, and climbs the third chair of the table, sitting upon the board seat and reaching for the given tablet.

She looks at the screen curiously. Multiples of logos were lined in rows of five to seven, each logo having different names, and more being revealed by sliding the screen that took her to another page; logos of the restaurants that were nearby and all around them. A single press of one random restaurant logo; a yellow W shape called Wcdonalds, and she is introduced a brief summary of the restaurant's available dishes from burgers and fries and etc - the sort of foods she's rarely seen and differs from the sort of proper meal and delicacy Mama mainly likes to serve her family.

"I asked the janitor that was just here. He said we can order whatever and have it brought to us," Gon said.

"A good call too. I hate to stand in line for hours at just any food stations around here," Killua said as he picked out his own menu tablet and looks through it. "I doubt we would even be in the one we want if it was just rows of people all cluttered together."

"Y...yeah," Emma managed to say, lifting her eyes from the device to gaze around the surroundings once more.

Killua, observing her wandering glances, and asked about it. "What's up?"

Her attention shot back for the white-haired boy, "Oh, well... It's kind of surreal. I've never seen this many people together before. It's so incredible honestly." Her own family of over thirty children was a tiny portion compare to this planetary of people.

A wide smile from Gon, "I'm sure it'll be just as amazing when you get to the Human World. I lived on a small island all my life. When I left and got my Hunter's license, all the places I visited were so awesome! I can tell you about it if you want!"

"Mm..." Killua said as he pondered over Gon's saying, but said nothing more as Emma eagerly accepted the young Hunter's offer.

"I would love to!" She said, and gazes back at the tablet menu, scrolling through the many logos until finding one that struck familiarity with her and she presses it.

"EH?! Look at this Killua! They even got food only Whale Islanders makes! Not even York City had this! Cool!" Gon said exuberantly in mention of his home as he looks through the section of his decided course. Killua looks at Gon's menu-tablet curiously.

"Huh. Guess they really do have just about everything for everyone," He imagined that this city has about all information on every competitor, the tipping-point of this was the before beginning of the preliminary, when their own data was shown and recorded as soon as they confirmed it. It wasn't mentioned then about their favorite food or the like, but Killua could see that it would have been included if so much about them were already known.

A bit off-putting, since Killua is a boy who likes to have some kind of discretion, and he begins to wonder just how much the people running this competition knows...

After they selected and confirmed their order of their individual meals from each of their chosen station, as they awaited and chatted idly; Gon beginning his talk of all the places he and Killua seen in York City, and how this place appeared just as big if not even bigger, elating Emma with serious intrigue.

Suddenly, a flicker in the large monitors that were hung upon and over each of the individual food stations, large television screens that Emma was honestly so surprised to see come in these large sizes. A person then appeared in every screen, a person introduces himself with a bow of his head and sitting at the right side, the channel logo appearing behind him, the immediate appearance instantly clicked for those who were familiar with television and lived in modern societies, a news anchorman was what this person appeared. Emma was not wholly familiar with the concept however, and instead, reasonably and simply took the person as an announcer of some kind.

**_"Good Evening everyone,"_ **the newsman greeted behind the screen, the loud chattering among competitors suddenly quieted at his pleasant voice that spoke through the speakers stations somewhere around them.

_**"This is News of the Wired, reporting to you live, and welcoming the official participants for the Competition Between Worlds -"**_

"What the hell is that a window?"

"Holy shit! Why's there so many of this guy?!"

"He's massive!" A reference to the jumbo screen.

Emma hears the startled voices and incomprehension of those who were seeing this type of technology for the very first time, especially to the giant screens overhead. There were many workers and patrolmen nearby and around to affirm to them calmly, that this was an announcer as Emma had accurately described, telling with information and reporting to the general public as a knowledge distribution.

She was actually somewhat mesmerized by this fathom, realizing that there were actually people who were not even aware of this type of technology existing, could it be that they didn't even have books to inform them of such things? Or from a place where no such things exist? Was it even possible that there were really people here who came from different time periods altogether?

This really is a plane of existence between and beyond space and time.

The competitors that were not technology-aware were settled down soon enough, their brief uproar clouding the name of the anchorman before the loud voices dulled once more, and everyone could hear the many, many, and many more TVs again.

_**"To the competitors who have passed the preliminary; congratulations on your official entree to the Competition Between Worlds. Remember to rest well, and be fully prepared for when the next round is announced, which will be given on the third day after the resting time-period concludes."**_

Emma adjusted her seating as she looked at one of the TV screens with grasped attention as Gon and Killua also observed the television with her, and everyone else as only some are now still eating their meals idly, their eyes to the screen.

_**"We have an enormous number of competitors registered this time's event. Throughout the preliminary, we managed to gather endless recordings of impressive feats performed by these now official participants. Here we have selected our top five moments.**__** Let's take a look at them now."**_

The screen changes into that of a video recorded by some distant camera that was mobile across the air. Emma watches the screen in surprise. "We were being recorded?"

**_"Our number five would be these two boys full of spirit and ingenuity," _**the announcer continued as the two particular individuals were shown and-

"AH!" Gon shot up from his seat, wide eyes at the screen, "That's us! We're on TV! Awesome!"

Killua looked on with captured intrigue, as the video indeed show the boys going through a grass-area land, "Oh. This is when we first got our first star."

Emma looked to the two Hunters with her, absolute shock that these boys were granted an honorary screening of their endeavors. She wanted to applaud to them, but as she looked back at the screen, there was something strange about this, something she can't help but feel. More so that she probably would have considered them to be recorded, although she can't even imagine how and from what the cameras were hiding from.

"Huh? It's just a pair of kids!" She overheard one saying.

"Aww~ They're kind of adorable!" Another spoke, a cooing female.

"Got to be something though if they're here," said another one.

Emma looked around weirdly. Do... do they not notice her friends here at all? Or maybe perhaps they were too invested to the TVs or to their food. She looked back to her friends, and it was then that she realized, their presence seem rather subdued to her, and figured out why. _Are they using Nen__... to hide their presence?_

She remembered how that one time, it almost seemed as if Killua had vanished, even catching the highly alerted Garou off-guard - this seems a bit more subtle however, evident that she could still notice that they were there, but paying close attention and she would notice that they were... much more quiet in existence. Was this one of their powers that they could use? They did mention that there were more fundamentals to Nen, and better yet, perhaps they're trying to keep their presence quiet so not to earn instant looks from everyone around them, looks from potential opponents - she quickly understood, or simply not wanting to be bothered by the attention in general.

**_"JAN! KEN!... GUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"_**

They watched as, much to Emma's own awe, the video of which the young Hunters approached a massive rock, as big as a house, and Gon with his signature move, punched the boulder in a single hit, and it exploded upon impact.

"HOLY SHIT! THAT KID JUST BROKE THAT HUGE BOULDER IN ONE HIT!"

"WHOA! AMAZING!"

"Better not underestimate those brats then! Hahaha!"

Killua huffed at the "brats" comment before keeping his sight to one of the TVs they were looking at.

The video showed the tree it's complete descend and crashed into the ground, where several creatures had fluttered out from the remains of the boulder, rock-like creatures that flew like beetle-bugs with wings, the rocky exterior protecting their bodies, Killua made quick works of capturing many of the rock-beetles, with the joined efforts of his quick-foot work and his yo-yos, and Gon following in suit with the use of his own fishing rod, and together, they captured a total of one hundred-twenty rock-beetles.

"Wow!" Emma could not help but utter out. Gon looked back and grinned at her expression.

"We pretty much exchanged all those beetles for some supplies at a nearby village we found, and it also got us those Support Cards we've used to get our second and third star," Killua stated as he kept watching, arms crossed and rested over the back-support of the chair he was sitting backwards on.

_**"Our next top moment, we have another young competitor who shines brightly as a shooting star, and moves just as quick as one."**_

The video then showed the next individual, and it was one which they recognized at once, Emma's eyes widening at that familiar, armored gleaming figure.

"Hey! It's that guy Seiya!" Gon spoke their thoughts and recognition.

The video showed Seiya at a red-desert like field, before him, a snarling creature, with raging muscles as big as the boulder Gon smashed. Its hardened flesh a reddish-orange that matched with the sands of the flat area they were upon. The beast stood sixteen feet tall, a truly huge size compare to Seiya, yet Seiya showed no fear or even wariness, he simply bounces on his feet eagerly, a hint of a smile that invites the beast to attack, which, it did. Or at least, attempted to.

The agility of the Saint warrior was truly stunning, like indeed, a shooting star that appears and reappears in deliverance to heavy blows and kicks that crushes through the tough exteriors of the beast's flesh with ease. Emma was at a loss for words, and thought to have blinked every time she missed seeing his movements, even though, much to her own stunned awareness, the wondrous display of the Saint's power had her eyes completely glued to the video unblinkingly so until her eyes strained and she had to recover.

Gon was just as in awe, an impressed gasp that drew a wide smile from him. Killua's eyes widened as he watches the footage. "Whoa. He's fast._ Really_ fast."

Even faster than Killua, at least at this moment. But the speed of this competitor was truly an awe-struck. It was like Seiya was teleporting, and with those fists that could crack the earth itself. Fighting this beast that's about a triple of Seiya's own size like he was a fly. This guy that's no older than Gon or Killua, he truly is strong, stronger than any Hunter they met in their own world. This guy really is superhuman.

"Whoa! This guy is quick! I can barely... I can't keep up at all!"

"He's punching through that stone armor like smashing cakes!"

"There's cakes? Where?"

"I-is he even human? How can anyone go that fast? Or be that strong?!"

The audience around them spectated and expressed collective awe at the show of Seiya's abilities. Emma, able to tear away her amazed gaze from the footage, looked among the cheering people. They mainly ceased their eating, practically all of them having their captured attentions to the screens and the person in it.

However, from where she could see, she noticed a few others that were glaring at the footage, assessing Seiya's strength and speed, the contemplation in their eyes that wondered about the individual, a look that questioned and plotted how they may catch up to him. She was reminded then, what Garou had told her at their first meeting; this is a competition, and everyone will be wanting to get ahead of the other, no matter how or against who, even fellow humans. A sense of sadness settled in her with a frown that questioned this sort of mental state, and she gazes back to the screen.

_**"Pegasus Comet Fist!"**_

He delivered the final blow, a beautiful blue energy from his fist that was like a furious storm of sapphire flames, punching the creature a single time. Obliterating it's upper body and head until only its chunks remained, and the beast fell defeated, the victor standing upon it, not seeming to be winded at all from his efforts.

The crowd cheered for Seiya, some looking quite eager while others paled and whispering hopes that they would not come across the warrior. Taking heed of all their meshed comments, Emma could only look at the figure in the screen.

Seiya. What an incredible boy with an incredible strength. Such a strong individual among many others here. This honestly feels more like a dream, but reality was indeed before her, the truth of just what humans are capable of. She felt the urge to clap along for him, although this recording would certainly not hear her or the others applause.

_**"Next, we have our next competitor, who also uses his body as his weapon. A true vicious battle between monsters."**_

The next footage showed. Another area that was set in a forest, a single man walks through it with ease, a forest that actually looked familiar to Emma.

The man was tall and well-built with muscles,a dark shirt light tan baggy pants but with a tight clutch around the ankles, and black slip-on shoes. He seemed like an ordinary man that held great strength, the way about him though demand not only respect, but to be bowed at. What truly stood out, however, was his terrifying face gnarled with relentless cruelty, and his blazing red hair as if drenched in blood.

The sight of him, Emma was instantly reminded, the description of which the ogre's village was destroyed by a man who was more monster than man, with wild red hair. An unsettling in her stomach, though there were plenty of other red haired competitors she's seen, yet, something about this person spoke volumes, something about him that reminded her of Lewis.

That sense of sadistic love in a fight of life and death.

Her breath hitches as he approaches the edge of what appears to be a village, her eyes widened in realized horror of what she had feared this person to be, and the riled up emotions that soon stirred inside her.

_**"Halt! State your business human,"**_ the guard that stood in front of the village spoke, his features identifying himself and the other one beside him as monsters.

A low laughter breaks from the approached competitor.

_**"Who would have thought that I get to meet real ogres? Let's see if any of you can put up a good fight,"** _the grueling red-haired man said in a deep voice, his smile widening.

Anger rushed her heart as the man said these words. His declaration, her otherwise assessed confirmation. This was the man, this was the one who invaded and left that village to ruin, leaving her friend the ogre child fatherless and the rest of his people to survive the harsh wilderness with what little they could recover from, the amount of losses they all endured. This was the culprit.

"So it was this guy..." Killua said. By the look of that sort of grinning face, this blood-haired man's attitude what that of a battle-maniac.

Gon stared at the screen intently. Grasping the same understanding as the other children. They watched as the ogre-like man faces against the real-blooded ogres, and to their own astound, watched as he dispatched the weapons the ogre guards held and quickly smashes the faces of both monsters with swift punches, bone shattering under his unrestrained attack. He was not as blindingly quick as Seiya, but this man still held a power worthy of his own boast.

Gon looked over to Emma, her expression appeared to be calm, but he saw the fierce rage in her bright green eyes. "Emma."

The little girl awoke from her fearsome reaction and looked back at Gon, and saw the regret on his face. "I'm sorry," he said, "If we had gotten there earlier, we could have saved that village."

She shook her head. She didn't want him or Killua to feel responsible for this. Neither of them could have known, though even so, her heart still beats with anger that if she doesn't keep consoling, she would no doubt be lost in it. The ogres were kind people who helped her, even for their admitted callous views of humans, they treated her with welcoming arms. For them to have been attacked this way, and the aftermath of it, at the hands of this person whose ruthless eagerness says it all. How could anyone be this way? To the villagers who were only living their lives in peace.

"It's not your fault, or Killua's, and we were able to help them in the end when we could." She spoke with some soft-hearted positivity, even though she was just as sorry. If only she had gotten there sooner, if only...

But what was lost can never be returned, never be taken back, and so, all she can and must do for the people who had helped her, was to live and fight on, in the names of their existence, and the names of the survivors she, Gon, and Killua gave.

Gon looked back to the screen once more, his own anger showing in his bright round eyes for the harm that has been done to those their new friend held close to her. Emma, very focused to the TV as well, did not overhear the reaction and comments of some of the competitors, who instantly knew the sense of cruelty to this shown person.

"You can practically smell the arrogance off of this guy." Emma heard someone nearby.

"I don't like the looks of him," another said. "This guy's obviously bad news."

"This man," one more person says, "You can tell that this is the kind of man whose never known defeat."

With all of her will that she could muster, Emma observed as the blood-haired man, after getting through the guards, waltz further to the village, surrounded by ogres ready to fight, his own amusement increasing, as he was then also confronted with the ogre chief. The face of the previous chief pulled her heartstrings, sadness flows through her, but she remained strong. Determined to see this to the end, even though she felt completely helpless, and the urge rattling her heart to rush over and intervene what was already long past.

It was an idle conversation between the ogre chief and the ogre-like man, a clear enough want and intention in the blood-haired man's words and face, and the ogre chief willing to accept his challenge. What came after was truly an epic fight. The chief was amazing with his spear work, the blood-haired man just as skillful in his ability to avoid any fatal blows, earning only deep cuts to his flesh that which blood spilled from, but his grinning remains, even wider than before. An enjoyment to this dance of battle. Their fight intensified, their bodies rushed through many of the houses, a fire breaking out as the severe strength between two strong men clashed.

It would seem that the ogre chief had the upper hand, but then, a tear of the blood-haired man's shirt, ripped from the flex of his muscles, a hungry vicious growl through his wicked smile. His great muscular body that carried its cut-through flesh and bloody drips, pulping with veins of his fury and the power behind those muscles. He looked even more monstrous, especially at the sight of his back, muscles that made into this nightmarish shape, the jaw-dropping view of his back wearing that face-likeness of a blood-thirsty creature.

It was then that it was realized, this man of blood-red hair had only been playing around, and now, he's seen the worthiness of his opponent's strength. His attacks became more brutal, swifter, his usage of fighting styles that Emma recognizes from Garou, this man was a martial artist as well, a grand level fighter as it seems, and in a stunning display of himself, he allowed one spear to go through, but the weapon only made so much as a graze through his suddenly toughened muscles, the shock in the ogre chief's eyes matched with the disbelief of most the audience, including Emma herself.

Nen powered Gon's eyes; **Gyo**, as he peered to the large TV screen ahead with frowning wonder, "Killua. Do you see him using anything?"

Killua answered as he also uses **Gyo**, "Nothing that I can see. It doesn't look like he's using any type of aura-like ability. He really is just using his own body to tank that hit."

Hardened muscles as if his own near-indestructible armor. That kind of thing should be impossible at a normal feat, not unless this person knew any sort of ability like Nen to protect the person. There was definitely an aura to this man though, something that may have been the answer to this incredulous thing, something which he's heard, and perhaps can confirm to not only Gon but to a few other people they've seen.

A fighting spirit.

And yet, it was not the sort of spirit that was protecting this man from anymore wounds, no, it was this man himself, and his raw strength that has proven the ogre chief's spear to be utterly useless now. No wonder he was in third place on this list of top five moment; while Gon and Killua, and Seiya showed their own incredible feats, this is a human whose combating a strong monster bare-fist, catching the chief in a stunned stupor with his spear caught between the abs of his clenched muscles. No matter how much he imposed his own strength, the human before him did not relent.

_**"Who are you...?"**_ The ogre chief asked wide-eyed.

_**"I am Yujiro Hanma," **_The blood-haired man answered, _**"The strongest creature alive."**_

An inconsideration to his own humanity, and that may very well be. It was clear that at this point, with the spear proven mute, there was no winning for the ogre chief. Yet, his pride did not allow him to fall willingly before his opponent.

And so Yujiro answered his defiance with a finishing blow. A gut-wrenching witness as Yujiro slammed both hands to each side of the ogre chief's head, blood spurts from the chief's ears at his retract, the eardrums ruptured, and a follow-up punch was thrown. The blood-haired man's fist caving into the chief's face and buried the head into the ground with a crack of the earth. Emma was mortified by the brutal display, and even some of the competitors around them commented as much.

Gon looks back to Emma at her horror, he reaches out and grasped her shoulder, patting in console. Her eyes wavered with disparity until she felt Gon's grasp, a thankful gaze at his way, though she doesn't know if she managed to smile back at him in appreciation, her distraught and anger for the ogre chief's fate damper at her heart.

Yujiro, satisfied from his fight, and the ogres keeping at bay, in shock at the loss of their leader. The proclaimed strongest creature then saunters out of the village, his demonic back at the burning wake of it all. The savagery was actually rather depressing than it was impressive, though no doubt many in the audience acknowledge the strength of this person, but no one offered an applause for this blood-haired man reeking with violence and hideous arrogance, and even felt sympathy for that ogre chief, who had fought valiantly.

How could people be this ruthless? What was the point of it? If it had been self-defense or survival, then this outcome would have been a tragedy, yet it would have been more understandable. But what was the reason that this man sought the ogres out personally? What drove people like Lewis to have the thrill in this sort of hunt? Emma doesn't understand it. She doesn't understand how anyone could find joy in this, and against people who only wanted to live their life in peace.

The anchorman then spoke, _**"Next we have number two on our list: an incredible pattern of men using their bodies as their weapons, but for this competitor, the slightest touch would prove to be fatal."**_

The next footage shows. A transition from the flaming village behind the grinning and bloody Yujiro, to the dust cloud that swarms grayish sandy area, and a shadow of a figure that slowly walks out of it. A desolated desert that clouded the environment with gust storms. The camera moves to a group of monsters; about twenty in numbers, and all facing against the approached. The monster's bodies were bigger than human-size, built as warriors with black-plated armor worn and each holding a blade-weapon, their heads pig-like, with tusks poking out from their mouths, and eyes empty of remorse. Orcs.

_**"Look brothers, another meal approaches us,"** _one of the orcs said.

The shadowed figured then stepped out of the dust storm, himself revealed. The children's eyes widened with instant recognition. Gon spoke all their thoughts, "Ah! That's-!"

/.\

"Here we are! One of our base of medical operations for check-ups and treatments."

Garou scales up and around the building with his eyes. A tall and wide complex of white exterior walls and medical symbols of red crosses. He wasn't a fan of hospitals, there were unfavorable experiences with it.

The nurse then led Garou inside. It was as huge inside as the out of it. A couple of injured looking competitors sat at the waiting lounge with several TVs hung on the walls, showing random shows at each one. NPC workers occupied a wide round desk at the center of this entrance room, and guards monitoring the halls.

"Welcome back!"

Garou stopped at a voice and he turned... then blinked twice. He looked back at Nurse Joy whom he is with, and then back to the other person, who looked exactly like her. Exactly alike. The same pink hair, style, face, and outfit. A second Nurse Joy?

"Oh hello! We have another patient here who needs medical assistance," the first Nurse Joy explained.

"Well, you're just in luck," the second Nurse Joy said. "One of our doctors is available. He'll be sure to look after him."

"Perfect!" The first nurse said and turns to Garou, pulling him out of his bemused staring when she spoke to him. "Let's take you to one of the shared rooms. It's where we would bring injured patients for immediate check-ups and recovery, so you'll be seeing other patients there as well. I must implore that you will not cause any aggression or instigation against other competitors within hospital grounds. This is a place of healing, so no fighting or we will have you escorted out."

He complied with a nod. Garou knew better than to start a fight on hospital grounds. It wasn't a good place for him to cut loose when he could, with all the needles around and such. Nothing of phobia, he was just aware of how much it would hurt if he stepped on one.

From the stern demand that meshed well with her upbeat attitude, the nurse smiled and said, "Good. Now normally, a broken bone like that would take months for it to heal, but with the advanced technology we have, and the abilities practiced by our nurses and doctors, months-worth of recovery will take no less than a day."

Huh. That's kind of impressive, and convenient. "I'll be good with just a big meal, you guys offer any food?"

The nurse responded, "Oh! I see. You have a fast regenerative ability?"

Garou shrugged, "I get anything to eat and I'll be good as new." Preferably something that isn't raw and in great quantity, but he can't complain if he's really hungry, or beaten to a pulp.

The Nurse Joy mentally made note of that info, and her bright and wide eyes return to Garou, "In that case, we'll provide you with a substantial meal at you choosing and tend to your wounds. It shouldn't take more than a few hours. Our services are entirely free and easily accessible for all competitors. We're all more than happy to help our patients get right back on their feet and in time to do anything before next round begins."

Content with that, Garou found himself distracted at another appearance of a Nurse Joy look-alike sitting at the front check-in desk, and another one leaving from another room, and another one tending to a patient sitting on a gurney. He stared eye-widely for a moment before following the nurse he is with down one of the halls, "Are these your sisters?"

"Oh. No actually," the nurse answered, "These are all other Nurse Joys like myself. There's a lot more nurses that looks like me in other hospitals too. We all happen to graduate from the same medical school, and this is the official nurse uniform we were given."

"...That's kind of creepy, don't you think?" Garou stated. Wouldn't it certainly garner a double-take and suspecting raised brow at the fact that nurses like the one he's following would have look-alikes? He has heard of groups having some sort of matching appearance, but that's with uniforms and maybe tattoos. With twins, triplet, or quadruplets, he can see that, but this is a whole other level of weirdness.

"Is having the same face a requirement too?" He added.

The Nurse Joy chuckled at that, "Oh no. We just happen to look the same."

Garou very much doubts that, and starts to think the head master of whatever school they went to has a weird fetish, the type obvious too.

Seeing his perturbed face, Nurse Joy laughed. "There's no need to worry! There are some of us who happen to be cousins, we all have very a strong family resemblance."

"That's a lot of same-looking cousins you have if they're all at the other hospital with the same names. Keeping up with the family business or something?" He asked, so many questions running through his head.

"I suppose you can say that. We all just have the same passion to help and heal others. It does take a lot of people by surprise though when they see us," she said with a smile before they reached to a double-doors to one of the available shared rooms. "Here it is. This is where you'll be staying."

She pushes one of the doors and enters. Garou follows in, the door held by her at his step in. A quick scan of the room and he sees rows of beds on each side, curtain stands separating between them, a large window at the end of the room where a garden is shown outside. There were a few competitors here at their individual beds, sleeping in, reading a book, or gazing out the garden. He was then guided to the nearest bed and sat down upon it.

"Please wait here and rest. The doctor will see you shortly," The nurse went to the foot of the bed where a medium-small TV is stationed, turning it on. She then pulls out a menu from a holder behind the foot of the bed and brings it over to Garou.

"This is what we have available at our cafeteria. It's not as extensive as something you might find at the food courts in the city, but they're very nutritious meals." She places the menu on the bed beside Garou, along with a TV remote. The nurse then mentions that if ever there were anything he requires, questions or emergencies, she points to a white square button on the wall right above his head rest and all assistance will be given speedily so.

After informing him of everything else in brief and short workings around here, she then bowed her head, and leaves to find the available doctor. His eyes were upon her until the door shuts closed behind her, and he was left to himself and the few people he paid no mind to. Disinterested in whatever soap opera was on TV, he flips open the menu with his available hand, seeing a variety of options.

A minute goes by and one of the double-doors opens. His immediate attention was to it when he sensed approaching footsteps, and his sight of the two figures was immediate. The Nurse Joy had returned with her remaining friendly smile, followed by a man in a white doctor's coat. A nice-looking man, with a neatly cut wavy black hair, and warm gentle eyes that held a maturity and experience between the interlocking of life and death, as any doctor would.

"Good evening. I'm Dr. Kenzo Tenma, I'll be looking after your recovery for tonight," the doctor greeted pleasantly, going and taking a seat from the walls beside them, and bringing it over where he placed it and sat upon it next to Garou, who eyed him attentively. He was an average and normal looking man, kindness in his gaze, a clipboard in the doctor's hand, and a stethoscope around his shoulders.

"Mind if I ask your name, young man?" The doctor added. Garou answered simply and the doctor looks at his clipboard, writing on it with a pen. "Let's have a look at those injuries now. Nurse Joy already put me up to speed. It's thankful that you were able to arrive here, you're in the best of hands now."

He starts by gently removing the wrappings that held his broken arm together and its support. The Nurse Joy provided assistance as she looks to the bite wound on Garou's shoulder, a healing ointment in hand and fresh bandages in the other. "We'll need to remove your shirt to treat your shoulder. Is that alright?" She asked.

Not minding it, Garou grabs the end of his skin tight black shirt and starts pulling it up with one arm.

"O-oh! You don't have to-" Nurse Joy quickly sets aside the medicine and new wrappings at a small square table beside them, seeing his eased efforts with only just one arm and her mind only aware of the difficulty it would be with his broken limb. "L-let me help you with that!"

She quickly helps along the removal of the shirt, successfully pulling it off his head and around his damaged arm. Tenma observed and also input his own assistance to it, and as his eyes scanned other physical ailments on Garou, his calm eyes widened.

"You were hit in the stomach also?"

At Tenma's words, Garou raised a brow. A brief glance at his person from Nurse Joy and an "Oh dear!" escapes her. From their pointed gaze, Garou follows and glances down.

A dark purple bruise practically splashed its color all over his gut, as if he landed on top of a stomach-sized ball of purple paint. The sight of it took him aback by a little, his intense gilded eyes blinking at it. _Damn, that brat really hit hard._

He'll carry that with him once he gets his vengeance. Although a kid that boy was, he won't let any heavy hit slide. But, damn, this was a nasty bruise, worse than when Tank Top punched him. That boy with the fishing rod was certainly not a pipsqueak of cute strength. He honestly wondered what sort of life gave that boy his strength? Even Garou didn't reach this level when he was that kid's age.

_I really got to be careful around him next time,_ he affirmed. "Huh... Didn't think a bruise would stay this long."

Usually any injury he gets would have faded with time, rest, and after eating and gaining enough nutrition in his body to heal his wounds. It was strange that this time, it hadn't, and he's been suffering this gut-wrenching pain for days now. What did that boy do to him?

Tenma rises from his chair, a collected yet firm look about him as he focuses on the newly discovered injury, "Let's make sure there isn't anymore hiding from us."

From other discoveries, there were only scratches and battered spots but nothing as severe as the three injuries shown upon him, not to the extent that which his shoulder, arm, and now gut perceived. Regardless of the level of severity though, he'd been treated kindly and with great care, the wounds coated in the healing ointment Nurse Joy gave that was cold yet soothing to the touch, and bandaging over other places, his waist being wrapped around. It was in actually a short time of treatment, with the sole thing to have taken about a minute longer was his damaged arm, which Tenma finishes evaluating.

"You have a severe fracture in several places. We'll have to get you a cast for this until we can get a hold of a healer or any available equipment that should fixed this quick. I understand though that you mention to Nurse Joy that you only required some food to heal your wounds?" was what Tenma said.

Garou nodded, and then lifts the menu, showing it to both the nurse and doctor. "Can I have everything that's on this?"

The nurse in particular was startled by his request. "You... want all of it?"

He nodded again, an expectant look on him that made him appear even younger, an erasure to the intimidating face that he holds.

Nurse Joy looked to Tenma, who held a smile in amused.

"You must have a real big appetite." The metabolism rates of competitors like Garou, even for an active and obvious fighter such as he was, always amazes the doctor as it was far greater than someone who works out daily. "If you can promise that you would be able to eat all of it, as well as promise that you won't over-stuff yourselves, then we can do just that. You're actually not the first one I've heard make that amount of orders."

"I-it's certainly a first for me," Nurse Joy said as she takes a step towards the double-doors, having done her treating of Garou's wounds that have now been newly patched up and bandaged over. "I'll... go get these orders in right now then. It might take a while, but we'll see that you'll be given everything on the menu."

"Yeah. Thanks," Garou said as he gave back the menu to Nurse Joy. "Oh, and a bottle of cola too."

Tenma obliged with a smile full of mirth. "Sure thing."

/.\

It wasn't that long before Garou was given a new arm cast, Tenma continuing to watch over him and evaluate him. Garou withheld the information about how his stomach had been hurting for days now, since the Hero Hunter was certain that he just needed a big quantity of food to consume and he would be all good to go. Nevertheless, Tenma seemed very thoughtful of his biggest bruise, and Garou begins to suspect that this man will ask of him to stay for the night. Hospital trips he can accept, overnight stay he cannot. There's a limit to how many sick people he would let himself be around with, and even more unappealing that he would be told to stay in bed the whole time. He didn't feel that harmed, aside from his grumbling gut, which he is sure will be satiated soon.

So the moment when Nurse Joy and other Nurse Joys (still really weird for him) brought in carts of food he requested, he offered his thanks, gave his respect before the meal, and dug into each and every portion with swift and graceful pickings using only one hand that held his fork.

"Be careful not to eat so quickly or you'll choke!" Nurse Joy urgently advises, though at the same time marveling the sight of his fast dining and eating. Meat being easily picked up from the bones so cleanly with just his fork and the soup being drunk as if it was a sake cup, not a drop spilled.

After a moment, he'd only made it half way, a bit of a hassle to using only one arm, but after gulping down three different bowls of soups, he sighed a satisfactory breath, setting aside the fork and grabbing a napkin from one of the trays and wiping his face with it. The other Nurse Joys watched with stunned reactions, having came here with the belief that he needed assistance eating with one arm, but it was clear enough that he had this easily.

"This thing's kind of annoying," Garou mumbled, looking down at the cast that surrounds his broken arm. With a swift, almost blinding swipe of his hand that made the doctor and nurses flinch, the cast of his arm broke with an instant crack, and fell upon his lap. "Sorry doc that you just got this for me. But it did good keeping my arm together until I got some food."

Tenma looked with a gaped mouth as he watched in amazement, Garou flexing his the fingers of what was his damaged limb with ease, rolling his arm and shoulder with only a simple pop, but no strained movement or pain in his expression, an eased look about him as his arm was fully mended.

"Incredible..." The doctor whispered out.

And then Garou resumed his eating, this time with a fork in one hand and another utensil in the other. He was even faster, with both arms now functioning, as he neatly dissected and consumed each of his food like a snapping turtle if the turtle knew speed like he did, his hands being the snapper that snatched each bit of meal and bringing it to his mouth as if it were rush hour.

_"-Throughout the preliminary, we managed to gather endless recordings of impressive feats performed by these now official participants. Here we have selected our top five moments.__ Let's take a look at them now."_

The wolfing down of his meal takes a pause, the piercing gaze of Garou taking notice of the TV, and what shows. He calmly gulps down the food he chews and looks to the screen. "Hm? Hey, it's those kids!"

The doctor snaps out of his amazement, looking at the TV. "Oh. It looks like their giving footage of some moments that happened in the preliminary."

Garou half-listened to him, leaning forward a bit as he continues his munching of his meals, watching the screen. At his calmed eating, Tenma then assured the nurses that their patient here will be fine, and the others but the first one leaves the room, their whispers about the competitors leaving beyond the double-doors.

Tenma then reaches over and collects the easily broken cast, examining it briefly with wonder and quiet awe, before looking back at Garou. "I ought to be happy that you needed this cast only for a moment. I think every doctor would want that for their patient."

A simple hum in response as he ate and finished yet another plate, eyes attentive to the screen. The doctor laughed lightly behind his smile, and then his pager beeped, he briefly looked it inside his pocket and then moves for the double-doors, "I'll check back with you in a while. Be sure to eat at a steady pace now."

Garou waved at him casually, eyes still focused at the screen and in between bites from a piece of steak meat. The doctor smiled once more, and then steps his way out of the room and for the next where he is needed.

"Hm. Guess those brats aren't so half-bad," the Hero Hunter said as he watched the TV at the foot of his bed, decidedly not reminding themselves of their previous show of power, and more over; "Still needs some work though."

They were young after all, and have more to develop still. Garou could tell, these boys will get stronger the further they train, however they do it. Well, he certainly won't allow himself to hang back behind them. The next time he sees them, he'll make sure of it.

The next footage then shows, and much to his own surprise, it was that Seiya kid. Punching the daylights out of that huge monster and smashing through the hard armor that beast was made up, with blinding speed that he couldn't even keep up with now matter how quick his eyes were. To his own astound and intrigue, this armored young teen really did have the speed that could touch maybe even Flashy Flash. No wonder this kid defeated that Greymon easily, it's because he could. Garou was honestly relieved he didn't get to fight him, not in the condition he was in at that time, though this time, with his body all healed up, he should give it a go the next time he sees this boy.

"Honestly, kids these days are even stronger and faster than when I was their age... damn I sound like an old man." He decided not to muse on that further, watching continuously at the TV when the next footage shows. "Oh? Now what do we have here?"

Now this was a hulk of a beast. He didn't have some sort of superpower as the previously recorded competitors had, but this man had the body built to stand against weapons that would slice through the human flesh easily. A terrifying look with a nasty grin, and the merciless of this man; Yujiro Hanma. This guy had the look of a villain alright, and the triumph of one who only knew about winning. Neither shown to be as strong or as fast as the previously shown competitors, but a martial artist of great caliber who only showed off his raw strength before deciding to become serious, some tricks up his sleeves and movements that Garou wouldn't mind taking for himself.

"Looks like there's some guys around here with the same idea." For the same ambition he's pursuing, in who should be renowned as the most fiercest and strongest, to terrify and fight against the world through might and carve their names into the abyss of people's nightmares. Talk about unoriginal, for both people like them to chase after this exact goal, but Garou also understood that this only means he'll have to face off this man from another world. He makes mental note and memory of this man's face, putting it in his hit-list of people to fight, second place that kid in armor; Seiya, and first place those two so called Hunters.

A brief flash of Emma's face crossed him, but he lets it go. She wasn't really worth his time, given how she is compare to all the other competitors he's fought against. She's smart and can be clever, and simple artillery for an eleven-year old to wield (seriously, who in the right mind gave a kid an assault rifle?), but he could easily overcome those with just a small doses of his strength alone, and his own cunning to beat with hers. Fortunately for her and her own unremarkableness, he'll leave her alone.

_THANK YOU GAROU!_

His mind dared to torment him at the memory of her hug and he shuddered, shoving down a chunk of garlic bread as he keeps himself occupied with watching the small television. The next footage shows a group of hungry and vicious-looking orcs facing against a distant shadow of a figure walking from a dust storm. Garou holds off his next bite of a turkey meat as the shape of the figure struck familiarity to him.

"Is that...?" He peered to the screen, though soon enough this was unnecessary as the figure steps out of the dust cloud. "Ah." His eyes widened.

_"It's unfortunate for you human, that you have stumbled upon our dry lands. No food for miles, so you can imagine how famished me and my brothers are," _one orc said.

The competitor walked further down, not a single hesitance in his steps even as his sad yet firm gaze met the white circles of the sickly-looking and deformed monster group before him. A casual climb of his feet over some rocks. His short spiky brown hair moving wildly under the bracing wind, the dark blue vest of plate armor over his shoulders, with the few small circular scars visibly seen on the bare skin of his chest between the open collars.

_"Oh? Do you wish to offer yourself to us, human?"_ Another orc questioned, somewhat confused at this persons's unhesitating steps.

There was no fear in the man's steely gaze, his prejudice towards the wicked beings before him. _"The bones of the remains I've seen; men, women, children, and the elderly. Like pigs, you've only known how to stuff yourselves in gluttony."_

_"It's all for survival,"_ one orc excused themselves, offended by the "pig" remark, before an evil smirk showed his bloody tusks, _"And it makes us stronger, the more living things we eat."_

_"I will show you that your efforts have been in vain,"_ Kenshiro ceased his movements, his cold glare showing no mercy as he affirmed with a point of his finger,_ "I shall slaughter you all like the pigs that you are, just as you have for those you've killed. You have extinguished your rights to live."_

_"We're not PIGS! We're ORCS!"_ In a rage, and believing their greater numbers hold the better advantage, all of the orcs charged for the single man.

_"aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"_

Goosebumps traveled up Garou's skin as the televised face of the competitor morphed into that of pure fury. The muscles of Kenshiro seemed to expand, the dark blue vest he wore ripped from his sudden increasing built figure, his figure glorious as the previous filmed competitor, but with a distinct difference in fighting spirit between the man of violence and this man of righteousness. A wild flare of his spirit flowed from his body that showed several more scars on his body, scars that lined up to a certain constellation in the night sky Garou recognized, and then-

_"ATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!"_

Instant quick movements of his hands, flashes of his fingers touching - just touches, no punches or even strikes, simply touches - the bodies of the orcs that which he easily moves through with his continuous high-pitch shrill. Garou spectate with wide-eyed enraptured, trying and catching those movements but it was almost the same with what he witnessed with Seiya aside from this thrust of precision he could tell.

Those were the very same hands that which made Garou into a bloody mess, and so the Hero Hunter moved a bit, closing in on the TV quick as he tried to catch what technique this person had used upon him and now doing so to this group of orcs. The hint was unveiled when this man mentioned striking his pressure points, but how? For Garou, he would strike said points with punches and kicks, but how's a simple touch to leave an even more devastating effect?

He watches, visually analyzing as much as he could to what this footage could only offer, but it was difficult enough with all the dust storms swarming them and the bodies of the orcs mostly blocking his view of Kenshiro, and within not even a thirty seconds, the man had already passed through all of the orcs. Their bodies fell with surprised grunts escaping them, Kenshiro's back towards them.

The orcs looked confused, grasping and touching their own bodies to which this man barely even poked, and soon, laughter escapes them.

_"Was that your attack? I barely even felt that!"_ One by one the orc rises, but the man did not move, nor turn, his bare back towards them.

_"It's too bad for you human. Whatever you used didn't work. Now it's our turn to kill you-!"_

The first orc raised his ax for Kenshiro when the man suddenly spoke. A calmed face, the man closed his eyes, and uttered simply with acceptance. _"You are already dead."_

_"What?" _The orc was confused, and suddenly, a bulge from the side of his head, several more bulges on several places. The orcs behind him following with the same reactions, and before any one of them would realize, the bulges erupted, an explosion of blood and flesh. Heads, limbs, chests. Their screams filling the area that soon painted from their insides that splattered everywhere.

Garou watched slack-jawed, eyes in disbelief as he saw the orcs, one by one, be blown up from the insides at such a gruesome display of whatever power this man used. It was far more volatile than what he endured. So this is what the **Hokuto No Ken** is about at it's full potential? It doesn't just make the flesh explode, it makes _people_ explode.

Swift terror crawled his skin as he imagined facing this man again. One touch, one touch would be all that it would take and Garou would be finished. He honestly couldn't believe how careless he'd been by letting himself get as close as he did against this guy, but then... wouldn't he already be dealt with a finishing blow? Why was he left alive then? Did this guy, for his violent technique, actually went that easy on him? If so, Garou is honestly offended.

_You do not have the eyes of a killer._

He "tch!" under his breath, his inner tremor still kept, and he continued eating the rest of his meals with a much determined feel to himself. "This guy's the most dangerous out of the others I've seen, and he's just one out of_ millions_ in this competition. I wonder what else do I have to look out for...?"

One at a time, he told himself. Whatever and who ever he may come across, he'll deal with them all one at a time. Of course, he was never given that much fairness in his life, but even if he ends up fighting everyone all at once, he'll do so with the biggest _F you_ to all of them he'll dish out down to the last pint of energy and strength in his body.

_"And now our final_ _footage,"_ the anchorman said._ "The number one spot in our list of incredible moments filmed during the preliminary..."_

He looked back to the TV, grabbing another loaf of bread. If that man was number two, then whoever took number one has to be _really_ something else. Another tough guy using his body as his weapon? Someone faster? Stronger? Or an even more unbelievable technique?

_"Just like the previous four, this competitor uses a body as a weapon, but with an even greater stature."_

He lifted the bread to his open mouth, but it never even touched his teeth before the next footage shows, and his eyes practically threatened to bulge out, the bread slipping from his grip.

"What... the hell... is_ that_?"

/.\

Emma, Gon, and Killua watched the footage in gawking aghast at Kenshiro's utter triumph and instant vanquishing of the monsters with blinding contact that Emma was still unsure what he had done exactly, but intuitively knew, that some form of physical touch was made. She held back the rising stomach acid of her sickness from such horrific executions as the horror and pained screams left the breaths of the near-instantly dead orc, keeping it down before it even reached her throat.

From her memory, she overheard this man mentioning his power something to do with pressure points, which she only knew about from the nervous system she's read in books. There was a treatment she also remembered reading about, involving the use of pin-needles, and at certain specific places of the body to insert the point of the pin-needle in, it could grant various effects from erasing body pains, changing ones sense of taste and smell, and other reactions. But there was certainly nothing that told her about pressing a certain place on the body that would cause this horrible reaction, which is reasonable considering that the Demons and Mama would never allow something so violent to slip under their noses, unless it was extremely well hidden.

Even so, for this man, if he had not been using any weapon she could see, then it had to have been really that, just as he had said when he admitted to Garou to have touched the other fighter ten times. His fingers. He really used his own fingers as his pin-needles. Such a terrible weapon of such easy access with total intense concentration judging from what she just saw. But what kind of method did he use to cause a person to explode?

The other competitors around them were also stunned to silence, some even losing their appetite and others breaking into an appalled utter. "He... he just touched them... and they all imploded like there were _bombs_ inside them."

"I don't want to mess with a guy like that."

"Damn. He might be even scarier than that last guy."

Gon gulped at the sight of the carnage. "Amazing..." He could not help but utter, fear and awe in his bright amber eyes.

Killua calmly observed the footage with a thoughtful look, "I know for sure my grandpa and great grandpa mentioned a story about an assassin who can kill several targets just by touching them, but this might be the most messiest way of killing for an assassin."

As Emma overhears everyone around her, she kept watching the footage of Kenshiro. Even for his bloody victory, there was no joy of accomplishment on his face, nor relief, or the cruel battle eagerness the blood-haired competitor had. This man, who spoke in honor of the killed, done in by those monsters, and now stood without a glance to the work he had done, knowing full well of it. His hardened face that knew sorrow as he opened his eyes once more, that cold glimmer of his existing goodness she was able to read.

A good man with the most ruthless and violent power. Emma felt compassion and sorrow for this person, as she wonders what placed him in this position, the reason for it, and what he had went through to have that gaze that held such sadness. Her horror of his ability remained, but her fear of the man did not so much as come, as she only felt this person's inner pain.

The anchorman then announced the next and final footage, and most of everyone fell to a hush. _"-With he himself controlling the reigns. A courageous pilot, with every step shaking the earth."_

The video shows, and at first, it wasn't truly comprehended, it was obvious enough they were looking at a figure. However, the movement of the camera, lifting from the bushes that were actually the heads of trees upon the side of a mountain, the figure standing right beside it, it soon dawned on them what they were looking at, and all jaws fell.

"What the hell is-?! A titan?!"

"IS THAT A GIANT ROBOT?!"

"W-what kind of monster is that?"

It stood seventy five-meters tall, purple shiny metal exteriors on its body as its armor, with black and green arms, and armor plates over its feet, orange rims. Its helmet a horn at the front of its angular head. A humanoid giant creature of some sort, its neon-green eyes seeming to stare into the camera.

Not known as a titan, or a mere monster. It was a being created to be the protector of humanity in the world that it came from, against other worldly threats only itself may stand a chance.

An Evangelion.

* * *

_**Competitors Introduced:**_

**Yujiro Hanma_ (Baki)_**

_**Non-Participating Contestants (NPC):**_

**Mashu Kyrielight _(Fate/Grand Order)_**

**Nurse Joy _(Pokemon)_**

**Kenzo Tenma _(Monster)_**

**_A/N: I decided to post one more_**_** chapter to commemorate the ending of the Promised Neverland series. It was a wonderful ride of keeping up to date with the series and new chapters, and now, it has finally come to an end. Originally there was much more planned but I believe it is best fitting to end this chapter the way it has. There are many loose ends that I unfortunately won't be able to cover until likely the next few chapters, so hopefully this chapter was enjoyable at the least.**_


	15. Overwhelming Odds

Chapter 15: Overwhelming Odds

An intake of a nervous breath from a boy whose solemn brown eyes accepting of his situation looks through the granted visual through the giant he pilots; the Evangelion – Eva Unit 001. His short brown hair that droops the tips down to his forehead wears two small oval-shaped headpiece - like hair clips, his hands gloved by his blue and white Eva suit clutches the handle controllers that which moves the Eva.

This machine of warfare against terrestrial enemies. This product of incalculable bio-engineering tied down to levels of government secrets. Its own origin is unknown. The method of its creation is unknown apart from those who have access to the map of this Eva's build, and others who attended its recovery after every mission it ends up being battered from. This creation - this monstrosity, meant to go against the very beings it was replicated to match in might with only the human mind and heart to guide it with every intent for human survival.

Not merely a giant. Or a robot. Or a monster.

What is the Eva? Shinji Ikari wasn't sure, and he's the one piloting it, while others help him direct its coordinates and the coordinates of the enemy, one which stood before him.

A four-legged beast with its own giant size, though relatively shorter than the Eva, it was wider and bulkier in size, mountain-like hills over its back as if its own jagged spine pokes out, with a single large horn at the top of its head. It's white rocky sharp teeth with red-eyes glaring at the other giant before it, a heavy snarl from its mouth.

"Let's get this over with," Shinji professed to himself cynically, pushing a button in the control-handler and pushing forward.

The outside of the Eva, the arm moved as a hidden compartment was opened beside its leg. Its hand reaches down and pulls out its weapon. A giant sword-like weapon to the average-size human, a mere knife for the Eva. A dark blade that is powered with the high-frequent vibrancy to sharply cut anything at a molecular level.

The four-legged monster threateningly growled, and it began its charge. The Eva, at the monster's approach to ram its horn into its target, moved to the side, dodging a direct stab from the stomping four-legged beast. The human-like arm then wrapped around the throat of the giant monster, trapping the beast in a head-lock. The huge monster growled, harshly knocking the Eva with a force of its own great strength into the side of the mountain, an impact that _boom_ed across the area with an echoing sound as the side of the eighty meter mountain crushed by the weight of two giants.

In the cockpit, Shinji yelled as he felt himself lurched back from the impact of the monster, but he still held onto the controls and determinedly pushed forward, moving the Eva's other hand that held its weapon, and stabbed the knife into the neck of the four-legged beast, carving through the hard-stoned flesh with ease. Purple-blue blood of the giant monster splashed the blade and spilled over the floor and feet of the Evangelion, as the light in its eyes soon died, and the monster slumped, dead.

Inside the Eva, Shinji sighed with relief. It was done, yet another win, in his mission to pass the Preliminary. Defeat the enemy, obtain a piece of it for point, then proceed onward for the next target and repeat.

He starts by slicing off a piece of the giant monster's horn, and let it be held in his hand. A brief passing moment, and the piece of horn glowed and shrunk into a minuscule badge that Shinji could not possibly see if not for the zoom in view his viewing could provide. The tiny gold-star badge confirmed.

_**"Good work Shinji."**_

A woman spoke through the comm-link inside his cog pit, to which he nodded absentmindedly.

"Yeah... no problem."

_**"Alright. Proceeding to transferring the collected badge point."**_

The star badge in the center of the Eva's hand was then swallowed by a sudden opening, separation at the center of the hand, flesh exposed as it quickly swallowed the star, though it had been so small hardly anyone except with extreme perception could tell what happened to the star.

**_"Looks like you're getting the hang of it. It's not just Angels Eva Unit-001 can handle. Even better without the umbilical cables to keep your Eva powered."_**

Shinji hummed in response, a very dull hum as if he's barely listening. A cringe in his expression as he felt the travel of the star underneath his skin, yet it wasn't painful, just strange as something crawls through his arm, and then settled into his chest. Before his face, the golden star badge appears, floating right in front of his eyes and he grabs it easily, looking at it idly as it held between his finger and thumb.

_**"Keep at it Shinji. You're almost there."**_

"Right. Thanks, Miss Misato," Shinji said with a quiet voice. There was not much enthusiasm or proud accomplishment in his dull thank you's.

The woman at the other end of the comm didn't seem to notice, or perhaps, she had long been accustomed to the attitude of Shinji Ikari, and then speaks in command.

**_"Next on our list, some groups of titans at the south. Don't know if I'd call them much of that though,"_** The woman sassed before instigating Shinji, **_"Let's go."_**

A complying nod, "Understood," and Shinji started his Eva's movements.

_Shink!_

"Ow!"

A startled pain from Shinji's right lower calve that harbored a yell from him. Like bug bites of some sort. Stings that came in numerous numbers.

**_"Shinji?! What's wrong?"_** Misato called through the comm at the sound of Shinji's instance of distress.

"I... I don't know - OW!"

Another dose of biting pain that assaulted his other leg, prompting him to grab it, twitching from the continuing discomforting, and increasingly painful feel, "S-something's stabbing me!"

But what? The monster before him is dead. Shinji swore he managed to kill it before it ever even got the chance to hit him! He couldn't have been injured, so what's causing this pain?

A brief intermission discussed between Misato and several other people. She soon returned to the comm line.**_ "Shinji! Look at your legs! You got company!"_**

With haste, Shinji returned his grip of the controller and moved the head of his Eva to look. "W-what?!" He stuttered out, unsure exactly what he was seeing.

/.\

It was amazing. It was fearful. It was... just enormous. Emma had never seen anything the like of it. Her only fathom of such giants were the human world-known monuments she has only ever seen in books and illustrations, things like the Statue of Liberty or Big Ben clock tower; this creature almost reaching such heights. Bigger than the demons in her world, bigger than even that Demon-Devil Serpent.

Beside her, she heard Gon's wide gasp of amazement, "That must be the thing I felt and heard! It's huge!"

She only held onto those words for a moment, before her attention was fully enraptured again by the slaying of the four-legged monster, the Eva standing victorious. A giant that seemed so human, though covered in purple armor with some green aesthetics that makes it seem mechanical, something about the way it moved made itself feel more alive than it seemed simply robotic, which Emma thought only existed in comic books. The possibility of making enormous human-like machines was there, though as Ray and Norman once argued, it was too impractical to even be considered making aside from the appeal of it, the concept being cool, and nothing more.

She argued back though if there really was anything wrong with that? And if she could ride something as big as that, she'd probably have a much fairer chance against the Demons in her world, to match their size, although there was much advantage in being smaller than the enemy. But was there ever something that can be considered too big?

What sort of issues did someone have for this large creature to exist? Were the enemies of whatever world this creature came from just as big, if not even bigger? Such an idea was so incomprehensible to Emma, and she is already aware of how small she is compare to the enormous ordeals all around her, even before getting to this point.

A courageous pilot. This is what the announcer said. Someone is actually controlling this giant. The true competitor, within the shell of this alien-like being.

How? Just how is-

"Something's happening."

Killua's remark snapped her out of her stupor. Gon was in absolute marvel at the Evangaleon in the screen when he too was pulled from it, hearing Killua and looking to his best friend.

Emma watches along with the rest of the audience around them, who were in disbelief at the sheer size of the Eva, whispers of "we're supposed to compete against that?!" And "there's no way we'd win" and another spouting "I wonder who the guy piloting that thing is?"

All was hushed, however, when the distress of the Evangelion was noticed, and at a close-up of the footage, they saw the cause.

**_"-Looks like we got ourselves a big catch."_**

The footage revealed, in the midst of the bluish blood that splattered the feet of the Eva, human-size figures latched onto the exterior, piercing through the purple plate armor and stabbing into the interior with their joined blade fingers. These creatures wore purple armor-like shells, with pale blue-gray skin, and long thin tentacles from its head and shoulders. Monsters. Their appearance were bacteria-like, something that seem to personify the Pneumonia Cocci bacterial cells Emma had read and studied about.

**_"Just our color too,_"** one of the bacteria monsters said.**_ "It's settled! This is our new place! And I bet the insides got more than enough food for all of us to enjoy!"_**

The monsters stabbed their powerfully sharp talons into the leg of the Eva, while small in comparison to the Eva, they were of several numbers that simultaneously stabbed through the purple metal plate armor.

_**"First things first, let's pinned down this squirming new home of ours. We're in charge of this body now!**__**"**_ An evil grin marred the face of the speaking monster as he and his fellow bacteria monsters started their climb up.

The Eva reacted and reached its hands for the source of the pain at both of its lower calves, grasping the areas and crushing the monsters. Red blood practically marinated along the blue-blood colors of the Eva's ankles, brief shrieks that quickly cuts off. However, more and more of the human-like bacteria came about from the splattered blood and even spilling out from the open flesh wound of the deceased beast.

The Eva jumped back, the earth trembled at its landing, realizing the source of the enemies piling his lower calves to be from the giant monster it defeated, and continues to slaps its own legs, like slapping ants that were biting through its hard skin.

"It's afraid." Emma suddenly said, observing with absolute attention grasped.

Gon and Killua looked at her in "hm?" before glancing back at the screen with similar focus. "Yeah, you're right. Is the pilot panicking?" Gon agreed, watching with amazed curiosity.

"They probably haven't had to deal with smaller opponents before," Killua assessed. "The armor its wearing looks pretty tough too. With those monsters stabbing through it, they either got to have strong weapons, or that giant's armor had already been weaken by its fight, maybe from whatever other fights it had before now."

The Eva continues to frantically smack and swat away the climbing monsters that were reaching past his knees. A sudden jerk of its knee stole its balance and the Eva fell back onto the mountainside. The monsters, joined by its brothers, have together pierced into the body armor of the knee and further pressured their blades inward, an agony twitch of the Eva's fingers.

_It's hurting?_ Emma observed in wide-eyed concern. _Was that giant actually alive? or... was the pilot in pain? Could the pilot actually feel the damage its own machine is suffering?_

The Eva blindly reached for its hurting knee, but missed crushing the monsters as it grasps the joints. The bacteria monster cackled, **"Ahahaha! Doesn't matter how many of us you crush! We're already about to dig into the flesh, and we'll be eating you inside out-!"**

It suddenly went silent when a punch connected its cheek, swift kicks thrown for the other brethren bacteria as it zipped by.

"Huh?" The children blinked.

One by one, the bacteria monster in the footage were knocked down, their gawked and baffled expression to the sudden intervention from their climb, each and every one of them punched and kicked up off by a fleeting orange shadow of a figure.

"What's... who's...?" Just as Emma began, the footage soon enough revealed, and her jaw dropped absolutely.

/.\

"AAAH!" Shinji cried out in pain when it felt its knee be jabbed, like a rod digging into his joints. It felt torturous. He tried slamming the Eva's hand onto the knee, but he missed and the pain continued, his screams continued.

**"Shinji!"** Misato yelled through the comm-link. Tears breaking out from the edge of Shinji's eyes, fear raced his hearts as the bacteria monsters threatened to enter the insides of his Eva. If they so much as break through, and get to him, he'll be finished. He'll be killed. He was a pilot of this Eva, not a fighter of his own right. But then, a sudden release from the pain, and he gasped at the relief of it. Wiping his tears away quickly, he looks over the knee of the Eva.

"What just-?"

A dash of orange quickly flew past his view, his eyes couldn't keep up, and Shinji thought for a moment that he must be seeing things, a small flash after enduring and suffering from the pain. But then it continued, knocking off most of the monsters in his views, and he couldn't comprehend.

_**"Shinji! What's going on?!"**_

The young pilot didn't answer. He was about to, when he saw the flash of orange again at the corner of his view, and he followed it, or tried to anyhow. "What is that?"

Much to his own uncertainty to trusting his eyes, a human fist shows itself from above Shinji's line of sight, knocking against his window view.

"Hey there!"

He showed himself then with a popped down head, an upside down grinning smile, the flash of orange actually a person, with black hair and wide eyes of an adult. He wore an orange sleeveless outfit with blue aesthetics around the wrist and shirt underneath. He held onto the head of the Eva, looking through the neon-green eyes. A loud gasp escaped Shinji as he stared widely in shock.

"I knew I sensed another person inside! Are you the one riding this thing?" The orange-wearing, optimistic man - Goku, spoke to the head of Eva Unit-001.

"M-miss Misato! There's a- How did he even get up here?!" Shinji's panic voices through the comm-link as he looked in widened disbelief and instant fear for the person clinging onto the head of the Eva. A fall from this height would kill any human!

A glimmer from the person's chest catches his eye, and looking at it, right above - or perhaps below in the case of this upside down person - the Japanese symbol that read "turtle," a patch carrying a total of thirteen stars was seen. This man is a competitor, like Shinji. This was the fifth day, and this man was able to collect that amount of stars already?!

He then heard the voice of Misato, but it was much louder and so abrupt that it startled Shinji before realizing that she was speaking to the person hanging onto his Eva's head, activating the hidden speakers outside the Eva. **_"EXCUSE ME! Sir! This is government property you're clinging on! This isn't a carnival ride!"_**

"Oh! Well sorry about that," Goku responded light-heartedly. "It looked like you were in trouble there."

"H-he needs to get down before he falls!" Shinji urgently said to Misato, the idea came if he should invite the man into his cockpit where it's safer, before yelping at another stung pain. The armor of his Eva have been dulled due to all the other previous battles of giants he's fought against, leaving mere human-size enemies to easily tear through the purple metal plates.

"Looks like there's still some of those guys hanging around. I can imagine it's tough fighting something smaller than you," Goku grinned at the face of the Eva. "How about I give you a hand?"

He then jumped off from the Eva's head. Shinji's scream for the man soon dies as he saw the man not just drop to his demise, but rather... "H-he's... he's-?!"

/.\

"Flying?!" The children and several others around them sounded their out loud awe at the wingless man in orange start its flight from the Eva's head, a controllable descend towards the bacteria monsters.

**_"Wh-what the hell is is that guy?!"_ **The bacteria monsters were just as stunned, and doom painted their face as they met the next attacks of the flying man.

_**"HAH!"** _Goku yelled, breaking through several of the still clinging monsters that were emerging from the bluish blood, only to find themselves be knocked aside and sent falling to the earth. He was quick, so blindingly quick, as if teleporting from one enemy to the next. Emma had only ever seen this sort of feat from Lewis, to think that a _human_ could accomplish this as well! Incredible!

"Awesome!" Gon shouted in cheer at the screen, never-minding the absurdity of this as Killua would calmly evaluate, or the jaw-dropping expression of Emma.

"Damn... This competition has got all sorts of fighters," Killua said. "How is that guy even flying like that?"

They watched as the man in orange finished off the last several bacteria fiends with brisk knock-out movements that struck the back head of each and every one of them, freeing the Eva from its small enemies, and all witnessed the cried out descent of the monsters, who were in utter disbelief that this seemingly human was able to easily best them.

_**"Impossible! There's no way! No human can be this strong-!"**_

Were the last words of the remaining bacteria monster before Goku slammed a final kick to its face, and pushed it off from the Eva's leg with a defeated scream, falling off screen. The man in orange then "phew!" at finally getting to all of the bacteria monsters, before settling down upon the ledge of the mountainside.

**_"Hope you didn't mind me cutting in. I'm kind of in a race against another guy I came to this competition with,"_** the man in orange said, having landed beside the Eva whose face pointed towards his direction. _**"My name's Goku by the way! Nice to meet you!"**_

He grinned happily, his entire demeanor relaxed and full of life, a pure-hearted man, waving up to the Evangelion he showed no fear or even outright fascination, simply saying hello to another fellow being. The Evangelion paused for a moment. It was frank enough for many people watching that the pilot is utterly dumbfounded, and an even greater absurdity to it, perhaps unsure of what else to do, the Eva steadily raises its own arm, and waves its hand back for Goku. The man looking very pleased at the returned gesture.

The footage then concludes, Emma's own gawked reaction remaining, Gon's wowed face, and Killua's intent inner-thoughts in his eyes. "H-he actually flew..."

There was no sensible logic to explain this, nothing that Emma could possibly be helped to comprehend how a wingless man can fly, it boggles her already incredulous mind. but there was no use to either reject this already given fact happening in captured video, nor trying and trying endlessly for a reasonable conclusion to dissect this baffling wonder. There is no point asking what will not be answered to her right now, all she can do is accept the reality of this unreal witnessing.

Great fighters, fast and flying, giants walking the earth, never mind the fact that there had been monsters of that size roaming the event beyond her own understanding, and people of abilities beyond her own awareness and imaginations. Energy beams, both bright, dark, large, and invisible, and extremely effective as she has seen both accounts.

How...?

**_"And that is our top five moments of the Preliminary." _**The announcer spoke,**_ "Now for our Honorable Mentions!"_**

Just as she thought she couldn't be anymore amazed, several more footage were shown, all amazing the crowd as practically everyone tuned in eagerly. Many more competitors shown with various incredible capabilities and powers. all further widening her gaping mouth as she observed with gawked eyes that she cannot look away.

One footage shows of a teenager with orange hair like herself, a long black robe with white accents at its edge and a white belt, a long black blade katana he held by its handle, a deep scowl of resentment towards a fat green monster several arms that mainly wrapped its body. Wide eyed green sclera that looked in shock to the competitor before him.

_**"Getsuga... Tenshou!"**_

The familiar black energy Emma instantly recalled upon her first night of the Preliminary, shaping into a massive crescent that devoured the monster. So it was this person, not only from a weapon, but from some sort of energy ability this older boy was able to unleash. Another inhuman like before Emma was not aware before, for humans to be capable of doing.

How?

The next video shows the teamwork between a teen girl with black hair wielding a bow and arrow, and a teen boy with long white hair and a massive sword he must be incredibly strong to wield, adorable dog-like ears on his head, and a prominent red puffy hakama worn his body. The girl fired a single arrow that emitted a mystical like element Emma could not perceive, though certainly she felt something was there, as it stabbed into a giant moth monster in the middle of the lake, and a blast of fire was made.

_**"Wind Scar!"**_

The boy of long white hair then brought down his sword, a powerful strike that pierces across the lake, and slicing off the wings of the moth, vanquishing it as it sunk into the lake.

Just how?

The next footage the boy Emma instantly remembered. The green haired boy who had somehow rescued her from that big ant monster with just a point of his finger. He was in a valley of some sort, pointing his finger at an incoming giant snake monster whose wide mouth opens to swallow the boy whole.

_**"Spirit Gun!"**_

The monster was then suddenly pierced through, as if a powerful bullet ate through its long body in a straight line, and the monster died. The crowd around her were in utter amazement and applauding, others remarking the abilities being shown and ways to deal with it, and all other matters. But Emma only had one train of thought, her attention absolutely taken as she stares at the jumbo screen.

How on earth can Emma catch up to all of this?

With only her simple weapons and human limits to rely on, nothing that could amount or even compare to the other-worldly powers she had just seen. And if such powers were allowed to be used, then what sort of challenges awaits in a competition such as this? Would she even be able? The distance in power level between herself and everyone else here so despairing, normal people would crumble in doubt and perhaps immediate admittance of defeat at the sight of such impossible feats be done by these people.

No. Wait, furthermore, why are these videos being shown?

Emma frowns as she continues to watch the screens. If footage like this are being shown, wouldn't this put the competitors demonstrated at a disadvantage? Did the competitors gave their permission? Or were they even aware that this would happen? Gon and Killua certainly didn't mention it, nor had anyone brought it up for as long as she was with them, their surprise at the sight of themselves at every TV screen as proof of this.

That Eva, as further evidence to the possible backlash of this showing, has been revealed to have a weakness against smaller enemies, and the mentioning of it having a pilot, would lead to the easiest conclusion that it's the pilot that must be dealt with for anyone fighting it to be victorious, not the giant itself. Emma was able to catch this, and she can imagine how others may have as well, with the competitor having the advantage of his identity remaining obscure.

This only proves it though, why show footage of people's strength and weakness that can potentially be detrimental to those competing?

"It's so that everyone can be aware of what to expect."

A jolt of surprise in Emma, immediately turning for the speaker from her seat. Gon and Killua picked up their heads, their gaze following Emma's. The instant sight of the man who spoke calmly set the boys on edge, a hint of nervousness crawling Gon's instincts, Killua already putting his hands right by his pockets where his weapons hid. Emma only looked at the stranger, up to see his face, as he stood rather tall, the orange-lenses of his round glasses hiding his eyes.

He wore red, hat and long coat, black suit and pants, white collar shirt underneath. White gloved hands and pitch black shoes. His skin is unnaturally pale, sickly though he seemed well-enough, if not something unusually calm to his whole being, as if he stood like a statue, and not a living person. His hair pure black, shaggy yet also nice. He held a looming sense to his presence, an off-putting feeling about him that had the children feel tense and unease.

"I... I'm sorry, what did you say?" Emma started, her eyes wide at the man who looked down at her. Feeling a chill under his stare, even though she could hardly see his eyes behind those spectacles.

The red-hat wearing man looked back up to the screen, responding, "This competition has brought together various people of power coming in all variety. Those that we have seen just now, it's clear enough that, if pitted to a simple normal man, it would hardly be considered a fair fight. It's no wonder they decided to be clever about it, a direct brawling tournament between all of us would have wiped out most of the competition, without even the slimmest chance of a comeback."

Killua's eyes narrowed as he listened to the man rambled, though what he said did indeed fit with the logic behind how this competition will work, granting challenges that would be best suited by people's personal strength, and not just brawn. He already long figured this, so what was this man getting to? What made him suddenly talk to them also?

"It's honestly a dull way of competing," the man drawled, a grin in his expression that gave Emma goosebumps, a grin that eerily reminded her of Lewis. "But it'll be interesting nonetheless, aside from the inevitable clash between multiple competitors. Of course, it's not enough to assume the danger, but that they may have to see it for themselves, and what to look forward to for all of the upcoming rounds; against those we are competing, and the obstacles that will be provided for us."

He looks back to them, "It's a way to even out the plains, giving everyone a chance, even those who don't hold those kinds of power. Information and noticing one's weakness, and exploiting it. A given opportunity disguised under the pretense of congratulatory showings. Perhaps it would be unfair to those being shown in these recordings, but then what would be the fun in their easy winnings? If those without powers to compare to that giant humanoid or powerful warriors are at disadvantage, then those powerful will share that standing as well. The greatest amusement is the struggle for that slight hope of victory, something which I'm sure you three will hope to grasp."

A longer look at Gon with a blank, thoughtful reaction, before turning his heels. "You're going to need this sort of study and uncovered advantage if either of you will stand to survive this event for long."

"Wait, mister! Who are you?" Emma asked, although her heart is at unease, her unrestrained interest piqued her voice as she clings for any sort of understanding to the abrupt presence of this strange and intimidating man.

The man takes a brief pause in his stepping away, "Ah. Yes, where are my manners? I am Alucard."

He turns to them again, and it was then that Emma felt her throat dried, feelings of ice in her blood yet refusing to outwardly shiver, as she spotted a glimpse of the edge of his eyes behind the spectacles, blood-red irises peering to her very soul.

"My apologies for startling you. I figured I could offer you an answer to your question," Alucard explained. "It's what I picked up myself, although you probably would have figured that out soon enough. Either way, this is what you'll be facing. Even if not in direct combat, if you're not clever enough, your chance at winning will be snatched by those faster, stronger, and bigger than yourselves."

He politely grinned their way, though unnerving nonetheless, as he then added, "Although, with the drive that you have, you could be someone who might make it. At least, I would hope so. It'd be interesting to see people like you go that far. Take care to watch others who won't show you any mercy though, Emma."

A lump in her throat as she stared back in outward calmness as the man in red then walked away. "Let's go," she heard him say, passing a table in long strides where a seated woman with strawberry blonde hair looked up, a loaf of bread in her mouth, and she stood up at once.

"Yes sir!" The blue-eyed woman said, garbing a soldier-police uniform. She picked up a large, rifle-like weapon that seemed unbelievably too heavy she follows the dark haired man.

They carefully watched him leave, and at his distance, Killua asked Emma, "Do you know him?"

Emma looked longer at the leaving man, her heart that jumped at his impossible reveal as she steadily turned back for the boys, forcing herself to calm as she speedily rushed her mind to rationalize what had just happened. "No... I don't. I've never met him before."

"How did he know your name?" Gon asked curiously.

She stared at her knees for a moment, looking back to them with a calm disturbance in her eyes, "I don't know. I... I don't even know how he... how did he know what I was wondering?"

She looked back down again, grabbing her chin in thought, "Could he tell that much what I was thinking?"

But that's not possible, even for all she's seen, how could he be able to decipher her exact question said in her own mind word by word and be able to answer? He came behind her as well. Unless he was staring at her for as long as she had her focus to the screens, how could he even tell if she hadn't even notice him looking at her? Let alone be somewhere in front to see her own face and guess what she's thinking?

Gon and Killua were alerted when they heard that, looking to each other in silence, and they came to the same thought. Killua glowering, "Could he have...?"

Gon nodded slowly, "If he knew her name and she never met him before..."

Emma looked back at them at their few worded discussion, "What do you mean?" She asked, lost.

They answered with a firm expression, Killua giving a respond first, "That guy might have read your mind."

Huh?

She blinked dumbly. "Read... my mind?"

They nodded simply. "Mhm."

She takes a while, and then it hit her like a truck. "Li... Like literally?!" She grasped her head that's been apparently invaded in that much depth.

"Yeah, we met another person who had the same ability," Killua said, his expression even sterner. "A woman who worked with a group of deadly thieves, but with her, she needed to physically touch someone to read their minds. It was a condition for her Nen ability."

"People can-?!" She immediately hushed, quieting down and not scream for everyone to hear. A lot of them seem very glued to the screen, even returning to eating their meals and chatting about the videos being shown. She whispered, "You mean... you guys can read minds too?"

What a dangerous ability to have. Such a dangerous and no doubt very powerful ability, at least to her it does.

Gon shook his head, "No. Every Nen user has a unique ability, mine's mainly about strength and power, and Killua's with electricity. They're called Hatsu. Like when I punched Garou into that tree, that was me using my Hatsu - or what's also called a Nen Ability."

"We have a friend who can use chains as part of his Hatsu. That creepy-magician clown guy, Hisoka, could use a rubber-gum like strands as his Nen ability. A guy who can leave bombs by touching people (not the same way as that man with the seven scars on his chest did), and a lot of other different abilities we've seen. All Nen users can have different Hatsu abilities that they themselves can create."

Emma had to actually covered her own mouth to muffled her "NO WAY!" expression. Hatsu. From reading minds to leaving bombs, Nen truly is such a terrifying and versatile power. How extraordinary, how honestly terrifying.

"For a guy to be able to read someone's mind though, and just right now with you, without even having to touch you..." Killua said gravely, "We've seriously underestimated the kinds of people that are competing here. Damn, he might have read our heads too."

"Which means he might have already know what we're capable of..." Gon came to the same reasoning, miffed feelings crossed his face. "How rude."

"Yeah well, I probably would have done the same for everybody here, if I had that kind of ability," Killua shamelessly admitted, though his hard expression stuck. "But based on what he said, he might have just read the thought that you had. The woman we met who could read minds could also dig into people's memories. I don't know if that guy might have the same sort of ability, but I can probably imagine that he'll have to try more than just stare at our direction to pick out that much."

Emma fought the urge to gulp, taking this fearful info calmly. "There really are so many incredible people here..."

How on earth is she to catch up to those that are capable of such things? Even now, she'd been practically exposed and she wasn't even aware no matter how alert she had hoped herself to be. There truly were so many here, capable of a variety of feats, not just strength, body, or energy attacks, but even mind abilities as well.

Yet even introduced with this harshly given fact, of how far apart she really is compare to everyone else here, still she remained resolved. Emma was never someone willing to give in at anything, no matter how fantastical and impossible the chances of her winning are, no matter how much more difficult and grander everything becomes. The true fact is that she cannot relent to the despairing distance of power levels between her and mostly everyone else in this competition. Even for the reality of this that would have driven Ray crazy, she - while sharing the feeling - wouldn't admit or grovel before it, she couldn't.

Not while she has her whole family to save. They, and all the other Cattle Children. For them to be at a safer place, to reach the future she wants for them. If she had once thought about giving up, or seeing no hope of her succeeding, she wouldn't have come this far, fought so much, struggled so much, and suffered so much up until this point. Facing against fear and death more times than once, so that she could one day set all the Cattle Children free, she couldn't let herself be afraid. Amazed, she will certainly be, but never afraid to try and go through whatever dangerous obstacles that are promised to wait for her. Even with people far more powerful than herself.

She was always a child who felt the whole world needed to change, and even if the world told her the futility of her struggle, she wouldn't accept its cynical reality, she would pursue to make her own reality come to be if she has to.

But she can't do it alone. She knew, of course, that even now, it wouldn't have been possible if not for the help of others; from her family, found-friends of Goldy Pond, and new companions here in the competition. If not for them, then the world would have been proven right, or so, she will not be granted the reality of her dream. But it was because of others that she had her reason to keep going, even against someone bigger, faster, and stronger, there was always hope, and if there wasn't, then it would be made, and for her current circumstance, she will find her hope to remain in this competition. She will look for that chance.

A chance against overwhelming odds.

And as she thought of this, she stares at her new companions. A thought came to her head, but before she could speak of it, the smells of warm aroma from delicious meals have come closer to their tables, delivered by human waiters.

"I'm sure we'll figure out a way to handle it," Gon said as his nose was the first to pick up the delicious scent, looking over to the bringer of their orders. Killua absentmindedly nodded.

"Mm. In any case, let's be careful how we act and think while out here in public. Who knows how many others might have that ability? I know it'll probably be hard for you but it wouldn't hurt to try - I hope so anyway."

Gon stuck his tongue out to Killua before his ordered meal of uniquely cooked fish and its sides arrived, a wide smile on his face at how much at home the sight of the food brought him back to. Killua is given his order next, a bowl full of chocolate balls, and his face uplifted at the sight of the sweets. Emma is then served her own plate, food that which also has her reminiscing of home. A finely seasoned steak, mash potatoes and vegetables on the side, and a basket of bread-muffins she ordered to share with Gon and Killua.

Deciding to put aside her thought for now, Emma gazes down at the plate before her, but none of her family here to join her. A realization that this would be her first time eating a proper meal without them. But her dispirited heart soothed once she reminds herself that she is not eating alone, looking to her companions who were waiting for her, having caught on to her habit every before meal. She warmly smiled at them, closing her eyes and hands together in prayer, her mind thinking of those back at home and those with her now.

Giving her gratitude for the meal, and mentally for the friends she's made here, the three of them began to eat. She will have to inquire the boys another time. For now, it's better to have it be discussed somewhere more quietly, and likely without others to overhear their thoughts beyond their own knowing.

/.\

Having finished his food all while watching and studying each shown footage in the small TV at the end of his bed, Garou took his moment to settle a bit, watching intensely as various competitors were revealed as the food inside him digested. That purple giant certainly caught him by surprise, the kind of giant that even bested the size of that big flying centipede monster. The only other humanoid giant he's heard of was back in his world, the news about a humongous skinless person - beating the height of the Evangelion several times more - that walked through City D before it's sudden death at unknown hands, Garou reasonably concludes that one of the S-Class heroes must have killed him.

Since there were far greater giants in his world, he reasons that this giant would be easier to deal with. Noticing that it has a weakness to smaller enemies coming in several numbers at once, Garou with his agility can overcome this large opponent with ease. What's more, if the announcer was saying true about there being a pilot, then Garou would simply need to take out the pilot and that body would tumble over. Being bigger doesn't just make anyone better. That fighter in orange just proved it, as it easily just landed upon the Eva's head and moved faster than Garou could catch.

_This place has got all sorts of strong guys. I better step up my game and keep up. _Pure excitement rattled his heart as he observed all the opponents. This was basically a training ground haven for him. Many of them more than giving just enough of what Garou hopes to succeed and surpass himself with. Honestly though, some of the people here competing would fit perfectly from B to S class level of strength. They really are the real deals, and he more than looks forward to facing them all.

"-your bones and most of your injuries have healed remarkably, although that bruise on your stomach is keeping my concern."

Doctor Tenma informed him as Garou stands from his bed, having felt good enough to move and his hunger settled, stretching his limbs and popping his shoulders.

"I would want you to stay overnight. Just to monitor you and make sure everything's okay," the kind doctor offered gently. Garou scratched head as he waved in nonchalance refusal.

"I'll be fine. You don't need to look over me." The last thing he, the Ultimate Monster, needs is to be coddled over even if that's basically this doctor's job. Besides, he's had his fill now, and all of his wounds have healed up. He still felt a pestering to his stomach but he's pretty sure it'll fade on its own later. "Thanks for the free food and the patch up. I think I'll be going now."

He'll admit, the treatment was nice, though he's more grateful that he didn't have to pay all of this, he would have been running out the door if that were the case, and he didn't even have to look at the bill, knowing that he didn't even a yen in his pocket anyway.

"Well... If you say so," the doctor's brows furrowed, his thought still centering around that nasty large bruise. "If something changes, feel free to come by clinics or hospitals like this, any time."

A minor glance at the doctor's way before Garou hummed in response, a casual parting wave as he leaves the room just as Nurse Joy arrives, surprised at his leaving, and watched him resume down the corridor.

"Oh my. He's already healed up?" She asked as she enters the room, the doctor sitting at a chair.

Tenma answered with a nod, looking down at the clipboard in hand. "He's another one of those competitors with amazing regenerative abilities and a great appetite. Eating everything from the whole menu."

He looks at the several empty dirty dishes on each cart, bones and lingering sauce left upon them, all its other contents it once carried been devoured by that brisk eater.

"The young ones these days are such big eaters," he added lightly. A thoughtful frown came to him, "Honestly wished he could have stayed. I can't stop thinking about that bruise."

There didn't seem to be any noticeable signs of something detrimental. Nothing of the organs being ruptured or otherwise, the patient wouldn't have eaten and kept everything in his stomach as much as he had. Still, there was something pecking at him, and even after treating the bruise with medicine and bandages, he couldn't help but feel something more to it. He honestly wished he could have had someone else here with a second opinion, especially those who might see something that he can't, no matter how many people around here tells of his own brilliancy as a doctor - which he would modestly declined, although he appreciated those comments anyway.

Tenma helped Nurse Joy collecting all the dirty dishes and bringing them to the carts. "Well, I and the other nurses triple-checked him while he was watching TV. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary aside from that bruise, but I would think it would be fine for it to eventually heal on its own, although I understand that sentiment. I would have liked to bring him over to the Healing stations or bring someone here to heal them, but most of those healers have been preoccupied with patients who had an even worse injury."

A low frown from Tenma as he listens, before pushing the carts out to the door. "Oh! There's no need doctor!" Nurse Joy said delightfully. "I can handle this. You should go see all the other patients. I hear you have an operation coming up as well."

He nodded, looking down to the pocket of his long coat at the sound of his pager. Taking it out and reading the message in the rectangular screen.

_Kaede/Lucy __\- Threat Level: Dangerous. Patient Status: Debilitating, Unconscious. Diagnosis: __Head Injury - Requires Immediate Surgery. __Operation Room: F154. __Admitting: Kenzo Tenma._

"Now that definitely sounds like you're needed," Nurse Joy said as she saw the stern look, a sign that his expert practice is in immediate need. She smiled gently, "I'll take care of everything here. Good luck, doctor."

"Thank you, Joy. I'll be sure to make it up to you later." He pushes the doors in hurried exit of the room, and ran down the hallway to reach his station. His shoes clacking at every step that rushes for the operating room.

/.\

It was a nice evening walk, the grid sky and its fake stars obscure by the endless light of the city. Garou waltz through the sidewalk with a heavy interested viewing of the tall buildings, passing competitors and NPCs. Turning to the several TVs behind a window of an electronic store, seeing some blue-haired musical icon that reminded him of the popular singer and A-class Hero Handsome Mask.

A bump to his shoulder from a person that rushed too much, and he only offered a look, not even moved or pushed by the collide of a girl wearing a red puffy hat with a fuzzy ball at the center top of it.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" The flustered red-haired girl apologized, carrying a box that had O2 labeled at the corner. A tag she wore upon her red vest reading: _Red Blood Cell Delivery Service._

He blinked at the girl, and bluntly suggested, "You should pay more attention."

"R-right! I'm really sorry!" She bowed her head repeatedly in apology before resuming her way, her amber gaze looking endlessly at her surroundings, "Uh... now where is that apartment complex again? Oh geez, where even am I? Am I at the right part of the city?"

Garou watched her fumbling self leave through the area. A newbie he easily presumed. Poor girl looking absolutely lost until she spoke to an NPC worker at a candy stand, and he resumed his way. This city really has got several things and a system going on around here. All these places and stores, everyone just going about their concluding day and starting night like it does in every city.

...Shoot. He just realized that there were supposed to be sleeping quarters. He'd kind of just been wandering off on his own. Should he ask someone around here? It's supposed to be free for competitors right? Probably should have stuck to those kids... ah well. he'll figure it out, and in any case, he can always find an empty place for himse-

A violent sharp jab to his gut, as if a sword just lunged right through his stomach and he immediately stopped and clenched the area with his hands. There was no blood, or obvious wound. He knew instantly though.

"Oh shit," he muttered under his breath, eyes wide. This was a particularly_** horrible**_ pain. Not a feeling as if he felt threatened to throw up all the food he ate, but it was like his stomach was being shredded and gutted out from the inside. Maybe he should have taken up that doctor's offer after all.

"Shit shit shit!" He hushed out, barely keeping himself composed in the open like this, gaining only few odd looks by NPCs and even passing competitors, as he smoothly and darted into a dark alleyway.

Panic rushed through his mind as he tumbled behind a dumpster, the erupting pain at its breaking point, the pain he can no longer push back, overcoming him completely and pushing through his stubborn and strong intent to barricade himself from it, bursting through the walls as the surge flows through him. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach and forehead pressed against the dirty alley floor with no one present to see his state and hear his teeth-clenching utter.

_F**k. Am I seriously dying right now? I can't die now! I haven't made my full debut yet!_

Oh wait, if he died here, he would just return to his world, as it was said so before he entered this competition... but screw that! He just made through the preliminary! And now he's gonna keel over here in this cold and dirty alley without even carving his name throughout this whole competition, where every member from every world would hear and remember hatefully his name? That's just not right (unfair)! This completely sucks!

It lasted for several more seconds, his clenching teeth might break under the intensity and he even considered tearing out his stomach to see the problem. Then...

It left. The revolting and truly hideous pain had suddenly, instantly, vanished. He gasped for a breath that he had been stolen from when this pressure in his stomach came back in full-throttle, sweats had poured from his face as he wipes it away with his sleeve.

"Did I just passed gas or something?"

Rubbing his eyes and the sweat from his brows away, he lowers his arm.

"Huh?"

In his immediate view, a glowing white aura surrounds and flows from his limb. He looked at his hand, dripping upward like thin streams, and noticed his other arm, coated with the same slow spew of aura. He stood up steadily, looking down on his body, his entire form flowing with white aura-like substance, like wearing a ghostly veil seeping from his skin. Garou stares at it all in wide-eyed, quiet bemusement.

"...Huh. Well this is new," he simply comments.

* * *

**Competitors Introduced:**

**Shinji Ikari _(Evagelion)_**

**Goku (Adult) _(Dragon Ball)_**

**Alucard _(Hellsing)_**

**Non-Participating Contestants Introduced:**

**Red Blood Cell _(Cells at Work)_**

**A/N: I am not at all knowledgeable in how and what a doctor's pager might say, despite my attempt to look into it (I'm generally a terrible researcher anyway.)**

**Thank you all for reading, to the reviewer who is surprised that there was no Hamehameha being included in the footage showing, Goku hadn't really need to use it during this event, that moment shall be saved for another time.**

**In any case, that section of showing other competitors power was really just to give flavor for those watching of what to expect from everyone they are competing against, and that not every competitor have revealed their trump card, otherwise, there'd be more than five and frankly, everyone would be there watching all day.**

**Also, for those who did use their trump cards but weren't in the top five, can be due to various reasons, one such reasons being that they completely decimated their opponent that there was no piece left for them to collect - which is what the point of the event is all about. But it is definitely because not a lot of them, especially the mentioned characters brought up, have used their trump card, or it was just decided not to show them since there would be too many, and the best they can be given is honorable mentions. I haven't quite made it all set-in-stone the reasoning, but this is generally what I have in mind.**

**I hope this chapter was an enjoyable. Garou has finally unlocked his Nen, and Emma needs to think of something in order to catch up to all the powerful people that smarts alone may not be enough to help. Thank you again for reading, stay safe everyone!**


	16. A Night of Unrest

Chapter 16: A Night of Unrest

Their bellies now full, the showing of recorded moments from the Preliminary had concluded by the time they were finished eating their amazingly tasted warm meals, excellently cooked, and Emma only hoped to thank the chef that made her ordered dish, but it's beyond her knowing who and where and if she may even find whoever made this dish, considering how busy they must be at the moment.

She looked around the area and notice that several people have begun leaving the food court, satisfied from their delicious meals and the showing in these jumbo screens, as many of the other competitors departed elsewhere, the night now dawning upon all their senses as many competitors left to either explore the brightly-lit city, or head to their sleeping quarters.

_That's right. There's supposed to be rooms for all of us, I wonder where it'll be..._ Would it be like a shared establishments? Individual houses? The first seems more likely, and preferred to by Emma, as she doesn't feel quite content living in a big empty home by herself. She never truly thought of living in any house without anyone else there beside her. Emma had only ever known living and sharing everything with others, in every room and the outside of the house they play. There was never a quiet moment, always a family in sight, and she loved every moment of it.

She once had the desire to stay at Gracefield forever, that orphanage was the only home Emma has ever known and love, the prospect of seeing the outside world had etched her, but not the prospect of being adopted and warmed by a new family, because she had Mama and her foster siblings, she already had her family. Even when the warmth of that home hid a terrible secret that means their imminent demise, it was still the home she grew up happily in, and even now, she misses it, all of its joyful memories that has since been destroyed in that fire.

The beginning day and partial night of the Preliminary was her first time when she was ever truly without anyone with her, but now was the entire night when she will have only herself to accompany, at her assigned quarters, without the distraction of a mission and persistence of survival. This is a time when they may rest, relax, until day breaks and next morning comes when they may do whatever they must, prepare themselves for when the next round is announced.

Though Emma is determined, she felt rather sad, yet has done well not to show it for her new friends to worryingly see. At least Gon and Killua will have a room accommodated for the both of them to share. It was almost something to envy for, but Emma only saw it fortunate and nice that the boys will have each other. Emma internally asserted herself with a pull of her backpack strap. She'll just have to male due with it, sleeping at a new, unknown place by herself.

_It'll be fine_, she assures herself and her prodding heart. It's been some time since she had a comfortable bed to sleep on, it'll be something to look forward to, she thinks to herself optimistically.

Killua stretches his arms as they, soon after their finished plates were collected, stepped down from the table. "Alright, so we're supposed to have rooms ready for us already."

Emma nodded, recalling Mashu's instructions, "Ms. Kyrielight said that we'll have to talk to one of the workers around here, and that they'll be able to guide us there."

Gon looks around the area and spotted one officer in blue uniform standing by a wall, a police hat that had a small gold emblem of a triangle-like shape. A beautiful looking young woman with aqua green hair and orange-amber eyes surveying the area firmly and attentive. He briefly jogs towards the officer.

"Excuse me, miss?" He asked. "Do you know where competitors are supposed to sleep?"

The officer looks down to the questioning boy as Emma and Killua catches up to Gon, stopping right behind the boy in forest green. The NPC officer, Officer Jenny, took a surprised regard at the sight of the children before seeing the worn patch and its stars on the side of Gon's backpack, affirming him and correctly assuming the other two children to be competitors as well, and would then answered helpfully.

"Oh. Well yes. There's a station where competitors are directed to their assigned sleeping quarters. At every competitor's registration and passing of the preliminary, they'll be already given individual homes to rest in throughout the Intermission."

"Where would the sleeping quarters be?" Emma asked.

"It depends," Officer Jenny replies, "and varies for each competitor, who may need special accommodations to fit their needs. It could be somewhere in the city, or far out. They can also range from houses, apartments, and etc. In either case, there'll be mobile transportation provided for the competitors to take these places."

"Who would get special treatment?" Killua questioned.

"They're only for those who are dependent on a certain living condition that not just any apartment or house will do," the officer explains, emphasizing with a point of her white-gloved finger, "They could prefer living in a field of wheat, in a cave, on a ship or even under water. This is something that can be personally requested, although the process might be a little tedious. The staff of the Wired does their best, though, that every appropriate living arrangement is met to fit with the competitor's preference, based on the information and background we were able to collect from them."

"Hm," Killua hummed. He wonders if he should question how these people would know this much about them already, but that's to assume if this officer will even be willing or able to answer that. The NPC officer's dark worn shoe claps lightly against the stone below her feet, the tip of it pointing to one direction as a start for it.

"I can lead you to one of the information stations nearby. The workers there will find where your sleeping quarters are, and if you need help going around the city, I can guide you to your assigned places."

The officer then brought up her hand and saluted, "The name's officer Jenny by the way, you'll be seeing me and several others who look just like me around the Wired. While I can't say I can guarantee what kind of homes you'll be given, if it's with other competitors nearby, be at your best behavior and no unruly fighting, or I'll have to detain you. Understand?"

The children nodded to the officer's no-nonsense warning, and the officer smiled. "Good. Now if you'll follow me, I'll be glad to help you kids. It's pretty late now, and way passed your curfews I would think, especially since, by the looks of you three..."

She regarded with her eyes the ruffled clothes dressed by the children and their few battle scars of just minor scratches and smudges of dirt on them, smiling with mirth, "You could use a bath and some rest. Let's get you to your quarters then."

They followed the officer, overtaking only a few city blocks on foot before arriving to one of the nearest stations, a fairly sizable Information Center - a round building with white green stone walls, in an area where people could enter all around the building. Officer Jenny was able to get to one worker who eagerly granted them assistance, pulling up the registry in her tablet and visual identification of the seen children - confirming their names, and pinpointing the designated sleeping quarters waiting for them.

"Okay. Looks like there's two separate apartments. One for you boys, and the other for you, young lady," Officer Jenny addressed, looking back to the children before then leading them away from the Help Center. "They're both apartments somewhat a little away from the city. It's a hefty walk, and I imagine you kids must be too tired already. We'll have to take a train car to get you there easier."

"Oh wow! I've only ever seen this in a book before!" Was Emma's reaction at her first ever seeing of a train-car. It was essentially a miniature, single crate train, following the rails, and singing bells as it came to a steady arrival. She'd bet Phil would love this, being the train-loving boy the young one is. They were mostly riding this transportation by themselves, with just a few people riding along with it, though seeming to mind their own business.

"Oh. That's right... you lived at your orphanage all of your life. All this must be so new and exciting for you," Gon asked, happily smiling widely at Emma's wide-eyed curious face that tasted the passing breeze of the train-car's movement across the city, watching the wonderful passing view of the city buildings, cars, and people, while nodding at Gon eagerly. Like a forest of tall colorful and bright lights so full of life, Emma was captivated by the view of it all, her head out of the window and her hair being frazzled by the wind, her hands clutching the grip support.

"I know how awesome all of this must be. When I finally left my home island, everything that I saw and the people I met, it was the coolest," Gon added as he and Killua looks out alongside her, Killua having a minor reaction than the others, but otherwise taking some smiling notice at their faces and continuing points to whatever interesting thing that caught their eye at the passing buildings. Officer Jenny seeming to take joy in the sight more so, red-cherry lips grinning pleasantly as she addresses some places they were pointing to.

"You know, I'd recommend hiding away that patch, instead of keeping it out in the open," the officer said to Gon. He looked her way curiously as she added, "While the force I work with, and the Guardians of this city, do their best to keep order to the Wired, some competitors can be clever, and crimes can happen quick."

Her friendly face turned serious, "We do our best to protect everyone - competitors who are only looking to rest and train in peace, and NPCs running businesses to help them, for anyone to have a chance in this competition. But not every competitor might want to follow the rules. So be sure to take good care of yourselves, and keep that patch safe."

The value of the stars on their individual patches once more hitting them, Gon understandingly nodded and puts the patch inside his backpack as advised, "Can you tell us why these stars are so important?"

The officer smiled apologetically, "Sorry. I can't disclose that information yet," her mouth frowned thoughtfully before uttering quietly, "What I can say though is that this is done as a precaution, meaning it's a lot safer - for yours and all the other competitors sake, if we don't tell what makes those stars important yet. It'll be revealed soon, so make sure not to lose it."

The same tone of a foreboding statement that Mashu had also given, Gon only nodded once more, and looked back out to the city with a more thoughtful look about him. Emma and Killua taking close heed to what was said. Emma thought and theorizes deeply, though one easy conclusion has already come to her.

"Are you three participating this competition together?" The officer then asked.

Gon affirmed brightly, answering cheerfully, "Me and Killua entered together. We later met Emma in the Preliminary. She helped us get through a really thick forest that had plenty of traps and strong beasts. Since she's helped us out so much, we're going to share the wish with her."

Emma removed her gaze at the city to the beaming boy who expressed proudly, a promise in his voice. "All three of us are going to win this competition together!"

The little girl's heart alighted with joy and amazing gratitude as her smile came to be, matched by the boy who said this to the surprised eyes of the officer woman. "Really now?"

"Is it allowed to share a wish with others, Officer Jenny?" Gon asked.

The officer gave a thoughtful look, pressing her fingerprint against her chin. "Hm... I can't really say... Not that I don't have to authority to tell it. Unfortunately, I don't really know."

Her face looked strained as she considered deeply, "If it's by the winning competitor's own desire, it _might_ be allowed, but then again, the winning competitor gets only one wish, and I'm not sure, or never heard of anyway, the possibility of splitting a wish into two. You'll probably have to ask one of the workers stationed at those dome-shaped buildings; the main staff of the Wired. They're the ones running this competition, but I wouldn't say that they'll be willing to give anything that may only be accessed to staff-members only. But if anyone were to know how the wish works, it's them."

"I see..." Gon said, crossing his arms over the window frame and resting his chin upon it. Delved into his thought as he searched for a likely compromise, should it come to be that only one winner is allowed. Emma, though could see and relate with Gon's struggle, never felt more encouraged and happy, reaching over to him and grasping his shoulder.

"We'll figure it out. I want to help you guys get the wish too. We'll find a way how."

"Yeah!" Gon enthusiastically agreed, high-five'ing with Emma while Killua looked a moment at them before turning his gaze back to the city lights, now coming to a steady decline as they pass by gradual increase of trees. Smaller buildings like entering a humble neighborhood, yellow lights glowing through the windows shielded by curtains, a few people taking in the cool night air and star-gazing.

The train-car arrived at another stop that had a lit lamppost and some benches back to back under a shelter. A vast forest beside the road, and neighboring smaller buildings at the other side. Tall lampposts lighting with whitish glow along the pathway.

"Alright. We're here," Officer Jenny informed, stepping down from the train-car, the children following after her. "The forest here has plenty of good spots for picnics, camping, other activities, or if you just want to take a nice stroll and look at the pretty scenery. Hunting is also allowed, though that's only if you go far enough and at purely designated Hunting Spots - but you'll first have to find the Ranger's Station so that they can point you to the right direction. Get too deep in the forest though and you'll be meeting with several wild creatures, so be sure to take precaution, and know your way back."

"Yes ma'am," Gon and Emma simultaneously affirmed, their gaze to the buildings and forest with wondering interests. The forest especially reminded Emma so much of her old world and home, the woods of Gracefield where she would always play tag, hide and seek, and other fun games she remembers fondly.

"There's also a beach just a couple more miles ahead," Officer Jenny added, "but the train cars doesn't go that far. If you want to stop by that place, you'll have to either go on foot or take the city bus. There's about several more villages around here that has its own shops and stores, if you don't feel like making a trip to the city, but you will have to go back there eventually when the first round begins."

They walked across the sidewalk, passing by houses the children gave their curious looks to. After a few more blocks, they reached a very large lot, several of the same buildings sharing it, with available parking spaces as well. It was an apartment complex, dark-red roofs and peachy-tan concrete walls, black stairs though an elevator is also available. The complex reaches five stories high, hundreds of doors that demonstrated each living quarters, lights shone in some curtained or not-curtained windows, a signaling telling of its living occupants.

"Here we are. This is where you boys will be staying." The officer gladly introduced before regarding Emma, "As for you, there's just a couple more blocks to go over before we'll reach the building where you'll be staying at."

"That's too bad." Emma heard and looked over to Gon who spoke, seeming let down, and looked at Emma with a slight sad smile, "I was hoping we'd be close by."

The instant of his downed face, Emma quickly answered enthusiastically, "That's alright! We can always get together whenever. I can always come over, if that's alright with you guys."

He nodded eagerly once more with a confirming "uhm!" Killua shrugged unconcerned, "Sure. I don't have a problem with that."

If they're going to be working together, then certainly they'll be needing to get together and comply one way or another. Her tracker would certainly come in handy, and in any case, she was skillful enough that, although doesn't have the power that Nen users like themselves have, she is pretty versatile and clever. They could use whatever help they can get. Killua's not normally a fan of having anyone that might slow them down, but as long as she can prove to keep up with them just enough, he'll have no complaints.

They entered the lobby-like area where the receptionist worker is currently at her desk. Her head picked up at the sliding doors opening (cool! in Emma's eyes, it's her first seeing one like that as well) and their entry and walk towards the front desk.

"Hello. I have two competitors here who are assigned to stay at this building," the officer addressed. "Names are Gon Freecss and Killua Zoldyck."

The receptionist typed the names into her computer, looking at the screen at whatever popped up. "Oh! Why yes. We have their rooms registered and ready for them. If you'll follow this worker, he'll lead you right to room 483 at building B."

Another worker comes up and nodded to them, leading the way with a welcoming arm gesturing for the hallway. Gon adjusted the wear of his backpack as he and Killua turned to Emma. "We'll be heading to bed then," the bright Hunter of forest green said, "I hope we'll get to see you again soon."

With great appreciation, he bowed his head down passed his shoulders, "Thank you for all your help at the Preliminary, Emma," and picked his head back up with a wide grin.

Surprised by his presenting gratitude, the little girl waved her hands urgently, "No no! I'm the one who should be thanking you. I mean, you guys are really amazing."

"Still, you helped us out a lot, guiding us and fighting alongside with us. I really appreciate all that," Gon smiled widely. "I want us to hang out again! Come by our place anytime!"

The boy practically outshone her own bright personality, Emma conceded with a nod and waved happily at their leave. Gon returning the gesture with the same enthusiasm, and Killua giving a casual one before the boys followed the worker through the hallway, to the double-glass doors that led outside and for building B. Emma continued to watch their leave for a little longer, until they turned the corner, and she looked back to the patiently awaiting officer.

"Ready to go?"

"Yes, Officer Jenny," Emma said, as she left behind the longing inside her once she is no longer with her new friends, pushing it to the far back of her mind. She will see those boys again.

The officer looked at Emma for a bit, but because Emma has masked her feelings very well, there was nothing much to build upon the officer's suspecting intuition of the girl, so the woman disregarded it and leading themselves out of the lobby. Leaving the apartment and the lot, they resume their walk across the pavement for four more blocks, passing several establishments, a small trek up on an upward slope hill, until they reached the next apartment complex.

It had the same nice simple aesthetics as the other apartment, but with a different and darker color, dark violet roofs and deep green concrete color, the porch lights on, glowing white across the walkway at each story that reached up to six floors. They entered the lobby and met with a male receptionist, who gladly and helpfully directed to Emma's assigned apartment with another worker there, a female, to guide her.

"Will you be alright by yourself at your apartment?" The officer asked.

Emma nodded, certain of this to the officer and to herself. "I'll be okay. Thank you for guiding me here."

She looked down to her brown boot feet for a moment, clenching and slightly pulling the straps of her backpack as she thought more of what to say, and added, vibrant green eyes meeting back up to the officer, "It's my first time seeing a city like that, and going to places like this. Meeting and finding so many new people all together at once. I only ever read about them, but seeing it all is so much different than how I imagined it would be - as a good thing! I only wish my family were here to see everything."

The officer smiled, warm amber eyes that melded with her professional sternest exposure, "There's plenty more amazing things to see in the Wired. Why don't you and your friends have a look around the city tomorrow?"

The little girl smiled at the idea, "Yeah. That might be something we can do."

An alerted sound from the phone-radio by the officer's shoulder, Officer Jenny grasped the phone as she overhears a message sound through the static, _"200 East Avenue; Shopping District. Fight in Progress-"_

The officer picked up the handheld radio from her shoulder strap-hold and held it against her ear, listening to the message. "I better get back to duty. It's a busy night, the first night after the Preliminary after all - and some people just aren't looking to settle down just yet."

She looks back to the girl, "A big city like that can be promised to have all sorts of troublemakers and incidents. When you kids do go out exploring, be sure to be careful and stay out of trouble. I'm trusting that you'll know how to look out for yourselves and each other."

Amber eyes noted the rifle carried by Emma, yet even by the sight of it and this girl's obvious scars - a testimony of rough challenges overcome, the officer still second-guessed herself. It was enough of a bother that this child would be living by herself. Jenny knows of children who could take care of themselves, but that's more so because they had some form of a companion or companions with them.

But she has dawdle here long enough, and she had to assume that there was a reason why she wasn't assigned a guardian of some kind. This little girl was chosen to be a competitor, and managed to pass the Preliminary with her friends after all.

She set aside her own concerns, her patrol across the city was required. Adjusting her blue hat and the heels of her shoes clicked together, the Officer Jenny saluted the girl with a small smile, "You have a good night now. If you ever need anything, the workers here will do their best to help you. And in any case, there's always someone available to assist. You just have to find them."

Emma looked at the pose of the officer curiously, and mimicked it out of politeness or an understanding of its greeting/parting manner - small hand salute and upright posture, much to the officers amusement and increased smile, though it was actually a very decently executed salute. The officer then started for the door, waving back at Emma who wished her a "good night" as well, black shoes walking out, her blue-uniformed back watched by Emma until the officer's figure disappears, rounding the corner and behind the wall.

Letting out a little quiet breath, Emma looks to the apartment worker who gestured for the hall in leading direction, and she walks that way for her room, placed in Building C; Room 336.

/.\

Emma looked with intrigue the sleek peachy-sand color walls of the elevator she and the leading workers were within, a much more modern and even simpler looking design than the one that that was found in the hidden bunker of Goldy Pond. Listening to the humming of the transport machinery as it steadily takes them to the third floor, where the metal doors slide open with an arrival _ding_. She steps out with the worker, looking at the corridors and its many doors, each an apartment for its living occupants.

They walked further down the corridor, the enclosed hallway eventually leading to the outside where bar fences separates from the dangerous accidental decent down, and the doors by the walls. A view of the forest and streets, and other buildings Emma could see, as the entire complex was upon a hill. Houses and other buildings spotted within the trees and such. The endless stars above more distinct as the city lights were far from reach. Emma takes in the cool gentle breeze before she immediately stopped when the female worker found her door with a rectangular window beside it, shielded by curtains from inside. The worker unlocks the door with a key.

"Here is your apartment. Hopefully it's to your liking," she opens the door and reaches in, switching on the lights inside. "If there's ever anything you need, don't be afraid to call us downstairs. We'll be available 24/7."

Emma enters the apartment, bright green eyes looking around the room. Peach-white painted walls, dark brown wooden floors that looked to have just been cleaned, and a sliding glass door that led to the back porch of white concrete fence wall, where she could see the bright lights of the city in the distance. The apartment was actually quite simple, and seemingly spacious. A small kitchen with its island in front of it, cabinets attached the wall above where the stove is, and a simple gray refrigerator beside them.

Somewhat at the center of the room is a brown wooden rectangle table with its four chairs. An empty book shelf beside it, close to the corner of the room and against the wall. Walking further in the apartment, Emma noticed a single bed placed behind the kitchen island, a pale brown rectangle wooden dresser with a lamp of a white cap, and a wireless telephone in front of it. A kitchen and living room that was also her bedroom, a very strange thing for Emma to see as said rooms were always individuals back in her world, yet it was appropriate for a single person to live here. Like a fusion of a nice and spacious motel room in everyday household, or so she's read.

The worker then presented Emma the bathroom door beside the dresser and the closet, the bathroom having both a bath and shower as one, a white toilet and sink cabinet beside it, white tile floor and pale-yellow walls. It was rather small, a normal private bathroom that felt so odd for Emma to see as she's only ever shared several baths with her foster siblings, their own bathroom in Gracefield rather spacious, perhaps even the one in that underground shelter just about the size as this whole apartment.

The closet that was closest to the back porch was just as small as well, with a single wooden bar high above her head to hang up clothes, and a shelf for her to put whatever. There was also a folded step-ladder for her - a small child, to use. Placed and leaned against the wall on the ground, white frames and black steps.

"This is the key for your apartment," the female worker handed the key to Emma, the little girl looking at the golden-like item she held and gently grasped in her hand. "If you happen to lose it, come downstairs and we'll get you a new one."

Emma nodded, "I will. Thank you miss."

The woman grinned pleasantly, "Alright then. If there isn't anything else, I'll be on my way. Good night."

Emma waved at the worker, following her out and watches as the adult headed back for the elevator. The little girl looked to the nice glow of the neighborhood lights seen through the railings before re-entering her apartment, closing the front door. She looks up at the modern lock system that was of simple design.

Rather than there being a key hole to lock from the inside like the Gracefield House had, this door is with two horizontal tiny bar grips above the door knob as her security measure. She touched the tiny bar's cool gray exterior and twisted it to vertical, hearing a locked click. No burglars tonight, Emma has enough crime novels to know the repercussion of an unsecured door.

Even if such novels were meant only to alleviate boredom for book-lovers intrigued of suspense, it is what taught the children the potential evils to look out for in the outside world, back when they still assumed themselves to be in the world lived populous by other humans, and Emma always took such books seriously, as it was one of the many materials that taught them about the Human World. She wasn't sure what to look out for at living in this new place, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. Though, she imagined something would be strong enough to break even these locks, the footage she's seen of those powerful competitors warranted these suspicions.

She walks back to the center room of her apartment. Another once over to the living room that also has her bed tucked against the back of the kitchen island. This place was far smaller than both the House and the underground bunker, yet as she stood in the middle of the room alone, she only saw it as spacious.

First walking over to the dresser, she pulled open the bottom drawer. Inside is a set of white pajamas, from large to small, and found a pair just about her size, a reminiscent to the white pajama clothing Gracefield orphans wear, white as the bed sheets and pillow case that could easily catch the slightest stain, and thus, gives evidence of any outdoor or indoor activity done by the children, and the loving efforts done by Mama to clean them, so that they remain presentable and pristine-quality as products.

"I should go wash up," she said, grasping her face that had been dirtied from the dangerous and close calls of the Preliminary. It was quite a contrast, having slept in the wilderness and fought for her life, now here she is, with all the desired comforts at her acquire. She glances to the closed glass doors that led to the back-porch, the city lights that could be made out from this distance, and then heads into the bathroom.

It was a radiant feeling to rid the stench and grime, shampoo bottles and other soaps already freely available by the tub, yet even though the bathwater was warm, it was honestly a dull experience. Normally, Emma would be a fan of baths, but at this moment, it wasn't anything that felt worth reveling in, the reason for this obvious.

She reminisces the wonderful bath-times she had together with her family, the bubbling laughter that floated along with the bubbles, their marco pollos, and the playful splashing that were often too much as it would overflow the bathtub, and they would get scolded by Mama. Emma remembered being the energetic child having trouble standing still while her eldest foster sisters tried to wash her messy hair, and she having to eventually take up that role to her equally enthusiastic little siblings. Those were the good times she always treasured in her heart.

After finishing her bath and drying herself up with a towel, she puts on her fresh and comfortable pajamas and climbs onto bed. Her body in relief to the soft comfort of the mattress, her head lying against the pillow. All the lights in her apartment were off, except for the lamp upon the dresser next to her bed. She stares at the scene of the city's glowing top from the back porch, her entire apartment sounding quiet, it made everything felt still.

This wasn't a place she could immediately call home. No, her real place of belonging, whether it was burnt to ashes or that underground bunker, even as it had the luxury of beds, baths, and a roof to protect them from the rain and snow, those things that made living in a house comfortable, was not what made Emma love it only so. Rather, her home was with her family. As long as she was with them, it did not matter where they would end up being. Whether it was in the woods, or any other unknown places.

For that, she cannot quickly call this empty apartment a home, nice as it is. Reaching for the lamp and switching off its light, the distant city lights illuminated the apartment with a dark blue hue. Her figure covered by the bed sheet, pressing her face against the pillow, her lonely heart longed once more for her missing family, as she hopes to dream of them smiling, and she smiling with them.

/.\

_"Emma! Come look at this."_

_Fingers tending to the tangles of Alicia's hair with a brush in her right hand, the bright personality of orange hair looks to little Sherry's presentation of a drawing, stick figures as their whole family with shapes for clothes, a sunny background carved by scratchy coloring. The other orphans busy and dedicated to their own sheets of paper and box of crayons in this room of homely familiarity, a few of them she hears and sees chasing down the hall gleefully, spotting Thoma and Lannion up to their usual shenanigans with each other.._

_Emma smiled widely, "It's beautiful Sherry!"_

_The red-headband wearing girl glee at the comment, her bright green eyes as equal - and stunningly similar - to Emma's. "I'm going to show this to Norman!"_

_The smaller child bounces away at her happy exclaim. A pinch at Emma's heart at the name, and her smile faded. "Norman?"_

_Her eyes followed after Sherry as the younger orphan found the other orphan among their family, drawing alongside Yvette and Mark. His white hair that had that affectionate single curled strand, his head turning for Sherry, lovely blue eyes that smiled at the approaching young girl, and then at Emma, his expression peaceful._

_The cold hollowness in Emma's heart grew greater, confusion taking hold of her, the instant recognition of something amiss. She looked to the other orphans in the room, several of them blissful and enjoying their time, yet here she noticed, a few of them wearing head sets, eyes staring intensely at the paper as if they were at their exam table. That... was certainly not right._

_She felt a tug of her shirt from behind and she turned around._

_"Hey Emma. What's wrong?"_

_A girl of long black hair and perceptive dark eyes, looked in questioning at Emma's dazed face. The girl easily recognizable at once as Emma said the girl's name, "Susan?"_

_But that couldn't be, Susan had left Gracefield, Emma remembered saying her hopeful goodbyes and sad misses. The dark haired girl in front of her was even wearing the same formal clothing at her farewell gathering - green overcoat, orange vest, black skirt and white hat. The sort of clothes that which all kids of Gracefield would wear before going to the gate._

_Emma heard more laughter behind Susan and she moved her head to see. Two girls laughing together as they finger painted with red, green, and yellow paint upon a white poster, the first girl with blonde hair at a side-high ponytail, and the other dark-skinned with black braided hair into a ponytail._

_"Michelle? Olivia?"_

_Emma looked back to the rest of her family, picking out each and every head she spotted. There was Hao sitting beside Nat playing at the piano, and Sadie too. It should be good to see them enjoying, but this was strange. Something was truly strange. Weren't some of these kids been adopted already?_

_She felt a tap on her head and she looked up, Ray's calm gaze consoling Emma, his hand over her head. "Try to remember," Ray said, "You know, don't you? We were the ones who always had to see them go."_

_It clicked in her mind. Snapping back to Susan, Michelle, Olivia, Hao, all the children who had been "adopted," and then returning to Norman, his white clothing changed into a green overcoat and white hat, black dressed pants with his suitcase by his side, his eyes so sadly peaceful as they looked at her fearful ones. It came to her like a bullet. These kids weren't adopted. They were shipped. It wasn't an adoption._

_All of them, her whole family including Emma. They were products. Meat to be eaten. Every orphan that were supposedly adopted and taken away, they were all killed. They were murdered by the demons._

_"You look pale, Emma."_

_Fear wracked her heart, ripping her from the despairing remembrance of the fate of the shipped orphans - her family members. She with distraught looked towards the door, the warm violet eyes of Isabelle piercing her soul as she stood at the doorway, carrying a familiar small child of light blonde hair whose face cuddled against the woman's shoulder._

_"Emma..." __A soft sounding voice of a little boy clutched her side, her startled green eyes looked down to the adorable smile of Phil, looking up at her with glowing trust. "You'll come back for us, right?"_

_Of course. Of course she will! She'll be back for all her family, for the rest of the Cattle Children. Just as she said she would!_

_"They're all waiting for you, Emma," the kind face of her foster mother spoke._

_The little body she carried suddenly slumped back, the vampire flower stabbed at the small body of the little one, the vacant eyes of Conny staring at Emma's horror. Her mother still smiling, her eyes now cold._

_"You'll save them, won't you?" The voice of her mother corrupted, meshed with another haunting terror that bellowed the urge to scream inside Emma, as the wall of this room was suddenly broken through._

_The tall figure stands hovering in front of Isabelle, from amidst the dust clouds of the room destruction, the bodies of her family lies dead on the floor bloody, vampire flowers at their chest, parts of their body cut through by claws. The sight of her deceased family bringing anguish to Emma that wracked her body with pain, she couldn't even scream._

_"Will you save them?"_

_The intruder said, cloaked in his black attire and wearing his dark hat belonging to the Grim Reaper himself, his skull mask of shattered fragments exposing his singular hungry eye for the remaining girl, his bloody and long sharp clutches that burned Emma's sides when she looked at them, and held Little Bunny, the favorite stuffed rabbit of Conny, the rabbit that started everything, as Lewis sharply grinned._

_"Emma."_

She awoke with a gasp. Bright green eyes widened at the dark ceiling, her chest heaving with every heavy breath. The glow of the city afar touching the side of her bed. She slowly rises, sitting up and rubbing her forehead, feeling the sweat that emerged from it. Her pounding heart loud inside her ears, she calmed it to a steadier beat in a short moment. Rubbing her eyes as her mind held the shadows of her nightmare, yet she kept calm despite them, though a faint sickly feeling came to her stomach, bearing with it.

She looked up to the round clock stationed at the wall, it wasn't even passed midnight yet. Her attention then drifts to the illuminating city, its existence like a bright beacon in the middle of darkness. Looking back to the sheets that covered half her body, she finds her small hands clutching tightly, and relaxes them almost immedietly.

Her apartment remained silent aside from her steady breaths, unmoved by her disturbance of the nightmare. She knew then what was obvious. She did not like being alone. She misses her family. She wants to see them - Ray, Don, Gilda, Phil; she wants to see everyone again. But she knew the futiliy of this wish, not unless she is willing to give up this opportunity of a wish, the opportunity to save themselves from the Demon World. She doesn't know though, if she could make an entire year or so without anyone here with her. It was just too quiet.

This is not a place she could call home.

She looks back to the glass doors, pushing back her bed sheets, and steps upon the cold wooden floor, getting her soft slippers that hid underneath the bed. She makes her way to the back porch, opening the door and sliding it into the other door - much to her surprise and brief intrigue, before stepping outside. The cool wind sending chills to her, yet she does not retreat into the given warmth of indoors, as somehow, it felt warmer out here, where she could hear the wind whistle, the gentle rustle of the leaves, and the sounds of the city miles ahead.

She walked to the end of the porch, which was small, and to the barrier wall that was her fence between herself and the area below and before her, resting her crossed arms upon the edge and laying her chin between them. She was once more captivated by the view of the massive city, stretching across the horizon and to beyond what her own eyes could see. The buildings and towers tall, its lights endless and vibrant in this night, taking place as this world's moon almost - outshining the literal crescent that hang upon the starry sky. She simply gazes at it all, its life surged by its wonderful brightness, and the countless people that must be living there now.

She hopes cities in the Human World would be just as beautiful and full of friendly people as this.

Emma had realized then, she really has nothing on what the Human World is like, other than what was exemplified in several textbooks she's read through in the Gracefield Library, and even then, it was very likely that all those books hardly covers the Human World in anymore depth other than at a surface level with general information. She wasn't even sure if those books were outdated, or brand new, judging by how off she, Norman, and Ray were when they suspected the Demons to have taken over - their conclusion, to have been fifty years, the actuality, they have been around more than over a thousand.

She wondered what sort of culture and people did the Human World have. What sort of system or places. Was it all exactly how the books tells it? Was it everything she hoped it would be?

Was it a safe place?

She had to believe it was. In any case, it was the one other world her family had to escape to, as staying in the Demon World would risk an inevitable and abrupt demise. She has to reach the Human World, the only place known where only humans lived, where her family and all the other Cattle Children may live the rest of their lives freely, without fear, without anymore sorrows.

But how can she really go to such a place if she has no concept of its current state? What it was like and what to expect from it? The question itself was brought up between her and Ray, the likeliness that the humans in that world will not be so welcoming, and would possibly even force her family to go back to the Demon World, to uphold the promise, to avoid war with the Demons again.

If that were to happen, then her family were either hopelessly doomed to forever seek shelter elsewhere, to keep running, or make their own world of a haven somehow, a world they can all live in safely; these alternatives are surely to be the most difficult to achieve, and that is why this struggle to reach the Human World must succeed.

As a contingency plan, her family will likely have to somehow blend in with the new world, pretend as if they were natural inclusions of it since birth, but for that to be successful, they have to understand what the Human World is like, its society and its rules. Any misstep and they would be found out immedietly, and be sentenced back to where they were trying to flee from.

She has to know, or experience somehow, the workings of human towns and cities. This thought ran through her mind several times as she continues to look out the main center of the Wired. The conclusion to this pondering presenting itself openly and clearly, and she had already caught onto, and soon enough, she made up her mind.

She backed away from the wall and goes back inside her apartment. Once inside, she reached and changes back to her venturing clothes, tying the shoe laces of her boots and grabbing her backpack taking along her apartment key she pocketed in one of the pockets of her bright jacket vest.

Once done, and also neatly making her bed, she then moves for the front door with purposeful intent.

/.\

The city louder up close, with bustling business of late night-outers, laughing NPCs and Competitors walking about, though admittedly, Emma can't really tell the difference between who was a competitor, and who was a non-participating contestant. The only clue she could capture of either identities, was if the person had their patch of gold stars or not, which she was able to spot, but this wasn't infallible as many of them could have simply hidden away their patches, just as Emma has.

She gazes with wondering infatuation to the large colorful billboards promoting a variety of tasty-looking items, products, and faces of famed actors or singers, electronics being sold (for free apparently) in several stores, and snack stands station on the sidewalks.

The black road was open for people to walk freely upon, but every once in a while, she would spot a person riding on their vespa (she spotted two, one white and one yellow) or small patrol cars going at appropriate speed down the road, bicycle-riders ringing their bells to warn their approach, skaters riding along the edges of the benches and fountains before getting called to by a nearby patrolman. It was just incredible to see. That a night meant for sleep could be so lively like this. She couldn't help but stare at everything.

"-and I'll take three of those, and five of those. Thanks!"

Emma looked to another snack stall she passes by, a very pleased-looking, and very tall man, in a rugged red long overcoat that reminded her of roses, his left arm covered in brown leather and closed by belts while the other arm was adorn by his coat's red sleeve, his hand holding a chocolate coated doughnut as his happy grin of stuck crumbs was chewing delightfully the bag of doughnuts he held in his other arm. The man's hair spiky and blonde, his eyes a kind sky blue.

She stared up at the man with awe as he ate doughnut after doughnut that were as big as her hands in single bites, perhaps a bit too long as she stopped to look, and it happened long enough for the man to notice and glance down to her, herself flinching from the sudden attention as his nice blue eyes blinked at her.

"W-mmph!" He muffled with a mouth full of his enjoyed treat, first swallowing down the pieces of doughnut in a single gulp, and he started again, a friendly smile worn, "Well hello there! Something I can do for you?"

"Ah. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare. I was..." Emma quaintly fumbled apologetically, her green eyes looking at the treat in his hand with a tilted head. "What are you eating?"

"Hm? You never seen a doughnut before?"

"Oh! I have. Well, I had bagels before. Mama didn't allow us to eat anything with too much sugar," Emma explained.

He bit the doughnut in another wide bite as he took in that answer, "Sounds like you got a responsible mother then," he said in resuming talk while still had the doughnut in his mouth (a bit bad-mannered, but he looked more silly than he did rude), "Kind of a shame though. Kids should be allowed to have all kinds of sweets, well at least up until they get cavities or sugar high."

Emma nodded, "Yeah. She didn't want us to get sick."

With her family allowed to eat as much as they please, it was wise on Mama's part not to offer anything that held too much quantity of fat or sweets. On the outset, it did seem like Isabelle cared for her children's health, but now Emma understood that it was really Isabelle looking out for the quality of the orphans, making sure they were perfectly fed, not spoiled.

"Over one doughnut?" The tall man asked.

Emma grasped the straps of her backpack as she answered, "We were allowed to eat whatever she made and have as much as we wanted. I think she was worried that we would get too many sweets and ruin our diet."

And perhaps the flavor as well for the demons.

"One doughnut wouldn't hurt, would it?" The man asked again, seeming rather comically disturbed at the concept of the treat being forbidden from her family.

Emma had to think for a moment before answering, "No, I don't think so. If it's just one, it probably wouldn't be so bad."

"Well, in that case, here you go!"

He took another doughnut from his brown paper bag, a caramelized brown treat thick with dough and shining with its own coating, and hands it over to the little girl. Emma reached up in reaction, surprised by the offer as she grabbed the treat that was bigger than her own hand, looking at it up close with perplexed blinking eyes as she looked back up to the mister.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't mind. I got plenty in here anyway," he said with a slight shake of the big brown bag. "Honestly, it sounds criminal to not have at least one doughnut in your life. Trust me, the first time trying it will change your life forever."

He exemplified with wiggling fingers and a whimsical eyes that sparkled his blue orbs even brighter. Emma giggled at the funny gesture before looking back to the given treat.

Were Emma a normal child, raised in a normal world in a normal family, she would have been taught well about the concept of accepting gifts from strangers - which not only highly frowned upon in many worlds, but also a potential to be dangerous. But because she was not raised in a normal life, where only happiness of the world was assured to her until the blinding fantasy was shattered and the truth was revealed, Emma would only think it rude to deny a generous gift, unlike either Ray and Norman, who would have given instant doubts to the man whose name is not even known yet.

But Emma was not one to unnotice the true nature of a person, they may hide it well, but perhaps since the gentle mask of her foster mother had been unveiled, she'd been careful in noticing the intention of strangers, trusting their goodness until there was evidence that suggested otherwise, and immedietly be on the defense. But as of now, she felt no intentional harm, or reason to distrust this man, whose harmless eyes and mannerisms only spoke kindness, and perhaps a bit of silliness as well.

And she was right on the mark, for truly, this man wouldn't harm a fly or even a spider, as this was a man who only ever saw the treasuring gift of life. Thus was the character of this blonde man; Vash the Stampede. An ironic title, for a tragic man who knew love and want for peace.

They sat upon a bench nearby, Vash enjoying his delicious doughnuts with a blissful expression, and Emma - though considerably wary in tasting the treat (nothing wrong with being a little cautious), if he had just purchased it, he couldn't have possibly done something to it already. With that in mind, she placed her trust in the man's generosity, and took a single small bite of the doughnut.

Her eyes alighted by the instant sweetness that traveled her tongue and entered her throat.

"Mmmm!" She expressed delightfully, and bites into the doughnut again, chewing and swallowing before commenting, "This is amazing!"

"I know right?" Vash said, his puffed cheeks and chewing smile wider as he watched in amused soft glee at the little girls instant addiction to the treat, eating it pace-fully, yet very enthusiastically. "These are just the best! Glad you like them already."

"I do! I really do!" She said in between bites, a bigger bite as she, though politely, keeps at a steady pace as she awaited for Vash to join her in eating the treat, to which he obliged, grabbing another doughnut - cinnamon flavored with a simple brown color to it, and he happily eats it in a single bite alongside her.

"There's plenty more here if you want any. I'm kind of saving some of these for a friend, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind you having one. Never wanted me to see him eating it, but I know he likes it. He can't hide that smile from me no matter how much he sulks," Vash chatted, biting into the next doughnut and savoring the sweetness with dream-like content.

"Is he around here?" Emma asked, eating halfway the doughnut now, looking up to the blonde tall man in red.

"He went somewhere else for a moment, but he'll be back. We separated for a bit to get some supplies before we both head to bed for the night." He then finishes the remainder of the doughnut, which was a good chunk of it still, his cheeks puffed and pink as he happily ate his obviously favorite treat.

Emma slows down her bite of the delicious caramel doughnut, chewing, savoring, and swallowing before asking, "Are you and your friend competitors?"

"Yup!" He answered without a hint of hesitation, getting yet another doughnut. "Oh man these are soooo good." He then eats it eagerly. "I hardly get enough doughnuts where I come from. This place is essentially heaven for having these available always!"

Emma looked down to the doughnut as she listened, "I see..."

"Are you a competitor also?"

She kept herself from jumping in her seat, visibly calm as she looked back at the man. His innocent blue eyes regarding her with patience and attention. There was no obvious malice in his expression, and so, she felt comfortable to admit it.

"Uhuh," she said, nodding.

"I figured. People don't often always see kids carrying a rifle like that," the man pointed out to the weapon hung beside her backpack and next to her bow and arrows, eating another doughnut with a throw to his open mouth and chomp.

"I mean, it's not exactly rare where I'm from, but normally their fingers would be a bit too small to pull the trigger." He said with a hint of sadness in his tone Emma was able to catch. "Do you know how to use that?"

Emma nodded, "Mhm. I've only had this for about... a week I think. But I'm good with it."

"Oh a w- A WEEK?!" Vash sputtered, instantly choking on that bit of doughnut that got caught in his throat. Emma sprung up from her seat, her feat upon the bench as she bang her hand against Vash's back while he coughed and coughed until he got the doughnut down.

"Th-that's awfully short, don't you think?" Vash asked. While learning how to use a gun on the first day will certainly promise a decent shooter, it normally doesn't mean instant expertise, even at that time span. Further more, even at a single glance of her rifle, he could tell it's making and capable rounds, the sort of dangerous weapon that brought him discomfort that a young girl was wielding it.

Emma thought about it, and came to agree, answering his concerns, "Maybe. It's actually two weeks now that I think about it, including this week we all just got through. I pick up on things faster than some of the others in my family. My foster brother Ray is the same as I am, sometimes he even learns things better than I do."

"Really now?" He said curiously, looking up to the faded stars glossed by the city lights taking up the space of shines. "A week or two of practicing isn't so bad, I guess. Honestly would like to see that for myself."

"I can show you," Emma offered, though she looks down for a moment. "I'm not sure where the best place to practice shooting is though."

He aeemed interested and also conflicted at that offer, standing up with his nearly below half empty bag of doughnuts in his arm clutch still, "Hm... there is this store that has a shooting range. But I wouldn't want to drag a little girl there..."

He grabbed his chin in thought. Emma, hearing the place, says in assurance, "I've never been to a shooting range before, but I think I won't mind it. I've gotten used to the loud sounds guns like this make."

He cringed at those words and shows sympathetic hints of sorrow in his eyes as he says gently, "Sounds like you've been through a hard life."

She nodded, "That's true, but I was able to get through it thanks to my family, and all the people we met who helped us."

Finishing her doughnut, Emma beamed appreciatively to the man. "Thank you for the doughnut by the way. It was very delicious."

Recovering from his reaction, he smiled warmly at her, "You're very welcome. What's your name?"

"It's Emma," the little girl introduced herself, her liking to the man having hold of her now, evident in her pleasantly bright green eyes. Standing up from the bench, she asked him, "Is that shooting range nearby? I can show you how I shoot if you want to see it. I'm also thinking of getting new ammunitions as well."

"I'll admit, you got me curious. It's also nice to meet you Emma," he waved his hand in greeting and stood up as well, "If you are looking to restock, I guess I can show you that place I know. Not really excited to do it, but if you're going to a place like that anyway, I hope you won't mind me accompanying."

He then starts for a direction, "Just be careful around the display set when we get there, and watch out for all the weapons they have."

She follows after the red coat wearing blonde man, pulling on her back pack's straps. "I will. What's your name also, mister-?"

"Oh look! There it is! Just follow me," he walked on with hastened eager steps, his avoidance to her question as if pretending to never heard it. Emma looked in peculiar at the back of the strange man, but carried on in resuming follow.

_He's at least nice, _she credits. Odd in a funny way, but undoubtedly nice. She already knew she would like the blonde man.

* * *

**Competitors Introduced:**

**Vash the Stampede _(__Trigun)_**

**Non-Participating Contestants Introduced:**

**Officer Jenny _(Pokémon)_**

**(italicized for easier read)**

**A/N: **_If only we just have amazing cops like Jenny, I hope this didn't bring any discomfort, considering what's happening in America. The system needs a lot of re-working, and that's all while having to deal with this pandemic going on._

_I did some editing to previous chapter to help better characterize certain characters, this might happen in this chapter as well later on, though I'll probably end up being busy as college days are coming back for me._

_If it's not known now, our main focal point characters we will be following for this story is Emma and Garou. Our_ **hero**_ and_** villain**_, competing in the Competition Between Worlds. Next chapter will continue Emma's perspective before we switch back to Garou. There is much more I wish to say about these two but as of this moment, there's already quite a lot of my A/N being written down, so I shall hope to explain it another time._

_There will be point of view chapters from many other characters from different series, including NPCs, and otherwise expanding this story somehow by diving into the motivation of others while also forming a bond between them, and the conflict that would undoubtedly come by others, and what the competition will bring._

_I've yet to properly answer all the reviews given before the last chapter, I hope to amend that right now._

_Garou certainly has shown to being nice around kids, two instances of this happening is of course, Tareo and Metal Bat's little sister. This doesn't mean though that he's completely against fighting anyone who are willing to fight him, or has the aptitude of being great fighters, to which he will eagerly challenge outright. Especially those with strength to back it up - and more especially if they're heroes._

_(Case in point when he tried ambushing King, possibly knowing that if he doesn't, he wouldn't have a shot against what he "sees" as the Strongest Man in the World if he let himself be known beforehand. lol. Likely Garou had this happened to him before, so he should by all fairness be able to do the same to others.)_

_This can be confirmed when he told Tareo that it's good for Tareo to not be a hero. Now, this could mean a lot of things. For me, when I heard it, I instantly understood it to say that Garou wouldn't hunt Tareo because Tareo's not a hero, regardless of Tareo being a kid or not. The Hero Hunter doesn't discriminate to whoever hero he hunts, whether they're weak C-class heroes or strong S-class heroes. But in his mission to become the Strongest Monster, he leaves civilians out of it, even those who have a connection to certain heroes._

_This is definitely shown in the Webcomic, and might be demonstrated further depth in upcoming chapters of the Yusuke Murata illustration of the One Punch Man Manga. He's unwavering towards every hero and fighter, brutal in his acts of "evil" as a "villain" (he freakin sliced off a hero's arm for heaven's sake. like DANG!)_

_While I can imagine he goes "easy" on kid heroes or young fighters, he's not nice, especially against those who should expect to get hurt. (ex: karate students or fighters in general, people causing public disruptions or attack on others, and especially heroes). If it happens that these young fighters can dish out really strong attacks, then he'll respond in kind._

_That's my interpretation of who Garou fights. When it came to situations like with Emma though, since she clearly states an unwillingness to fight, he lets her go, just as he lets go of Metal Bat after Metal Bat's little sister intervened. In one way, he sees her "surrendering" and "decides to show mercy," and two, he sees "not worth the effort" of hurting a defenseless little girl even though she stole and lost his hard earned points. (he really just a softie)._

_That one point when he tried to grab her while she was with Gon and Killua, it was more so to instigate Gon and Killua to attack him, if they didn't respond so he'd probably be lost on what to do next. Next bet, if Emma didn't grant that unforeseen offer, he would have likely attacked Gon and Killua, and have Emma react by fighting him back (like with what happened with Mumen Rider, although he'll probably just knock her aside easily, nothing too brutal)._

_But if Emma were to remain steadfast in her brave rescind and putting herself between him from Gon and Killua, then it's another impasse since he doesn't seem to strike those who won't give him a fight, or at least those who doesn't fight back (otherwise, it'd just be bullying). He can get annoyed and the temptation is there to be "really" evil, but he's managed to have enough self-control to not outright deck Emma's pointed insight to his character (although he wants to be evil, he's looking to become "his" version of "evil," and while he can be pushed, it's a mystery if he will actually follow through with it - apart from that one time when he tried to and... well, failed)._

_He once again rescinded when it's clear cut that they don't want to fight him and even surrendering their stars, to which he pridefully rejects, since he's not looking for hand-outs or pity (although he won't say no to easy healing and free meals). He's somewhat okay with Emma now, since she managed to fulfill her end of their deal, but he'll keep the promise he and Gon made to fight another day._

_I'm saying lots of _probably_ and _seeming_ cause honestly, Garou is such a confusing and fascinating character that I think I might have a crush and I hate it. Although he's certainly an eye-candy for a lot of ladies, funny enough that he's considered the ugly kid (kid Garou is so adorable though, Tareo as well, I love them both, although i hate what Garou did to Mumen Rider - precious and beloved bike-man of justice whose really out of his physical realm against incredibly strong opponents, but he's got a strong heart which a lot of One Punch Man fan loves.)_

_It's actually a peculiar circumstance to why Garou's been chosen as a participant to the Competition Between Worlds, circumstances which I cannot give away as of now, but look forward to the reveal of it. It's nothing that grand, just maybe a bit... well it'll be a long while before the reveal will come. So hopefully, all of you will enjoy the story_

**_Q/A:_**

_**DedeTC:** I hope to write such instances of character-bonding moments, just casual camaraderie, though as of now, they're still in "mission-mode" to prepare themselves for the next round, I dare say that even for this "relaxing period," there's not gonna be a lot of relaxing, but training._

_**Maxim7**: Garou will inevitably become stronger the more competitors he faces and fights, against Kenshiro, while he can slowly become immune to those pressed attacks, he still has to figure out the secret behind the technique in order to avoid its full effects. He also needs to hone his new ability of Nen, and try to overcome all other sorts of abilities that still yet awaits to be unveiled by those in the competition. So yeah, if he survives, the Nightmare in Wolf's Clothing will be unleashed, though there are plenty of strong and strategic opponents he'll have to face._

_Also, as for whose behind this competition, I dare say, to keep on guessing, there's quite a lore to it I made._

_Emma will be making all sorts of friends, be it male or females. There will be female characters upcoming for Emma to make friends with, though this likely won't be for a long while. It seems she gets along rather well with boys, considering her tomboyish-like personality, though she still is very much a young lady. She will have female friends to mingle with eventually._

_**Zack24:** I haven't watched or played Blazeblue, if I get around to it, I might just do so, or at least throw in a reference there. I do know that RWBY had their crossover with it, so it might be mentioned very much._

_**Wolfking554:** It's not firmly known as of now just who will be among Emma's team, though I have a few ideas in mind already, certainly some hopes and guesses are free to be made though!_

_**Kitsunelover300:** AMAZING CATCH! I'm so happy you caught onto that! (I'm assuming you mean Alucard, of course). Indeed, Gon is both a typical and deconstruction of the Shonen Character trope, something which Emma kind of diverges, though as I study her character, I managed to pick out some things that makes her - though typical, unique as well, and not just because she's the rare main-leading female shonen character. I will likely talk about this next chapter. I certainly hope to make such wonderful interactions with such characters, though as of now we'll be focusing on Emma, but without a doubt, Gon's personality will draw in others as much as Emma has the ability to._

_Next chapter I might give my insight into the character of Emma, and why I believed there were some similarities to her and Garou, while also making some contrast to the obvious comparison between Emma and Gon. Until then, stay safe out there._


	17. Learning New Tricks

Chapter 17: Learning New Tricks

They arrived to a store labelled with posters of ammunition and weapons of all variety. Emma had seen something like this when Mashu was guiding them through a small section of the Wired, and she'd been hoping to stop by to restock on her ammos. Vash is least anticipating, somehow dawning on him now the questionable dissent of bringing a child to a store like this - with the sort of person that he is. There was a method to this impulse however, looking over his shoulder for the little girl with numbers on her neck.

She's a sweet one, round eyes still bright with innocence and lingering wonder to the world around her as if everything was a first experience. He has seen too many children lose that sort of glow, a gun in their small hands as a means to defend themselves, their eyes cold and angry against the world and everyone around them - everything their enemy, and no happiness ever to exist. Abandoned or stripped from their guardians, or anyone with a kindness to look after them.

This girl though, while she held evidence of living a difficult life, not just by her weapons but also the scar she carries, noticing with sharp perception through the messy orange strands of where her left ear's supposed to be, and the scar on her cheek he instantly recognized to be a bullet graze. She had known the tough ordeals of survival, and yet was still willing to trust a stranger like him, to accept his offered doughnut that he honestly would never thought to do, but Vash couldn't simply let it by after hearing her inexperience of the treat, and it was worth giving one away for her reaction, her giggles for his willing oddity.

She seemed to be the sort who's unwilling to accept the cruel and cold calamity he's seen spur many people in his world. She's a tough little maiden for certain, yet his heart is sad at the sight of her at her age having to carry a gun at all. At the very least, if she does claim to know how to use that rifle, then Vash felt it his responsibility to see if this is true. A week of practice doesn't make an expert, and he would rather be sure that she's careful not to shoot her own foot or hit her face by the blunt end of it, or any misfiring. Though sound reasons, regardless if he is with or without them, it felt it his business to at least care when a lone child is wandering around in a big city like this.

"Okay, so I want you to stay close, and try not touch anything inside that store," Vash discloses upbeat.

Emma looked up to the man and confirmed with a nod, and he pushes open the door, an announcing bell-ring as he steps inside, herself following close behind while bright green eyes takes in the surroundings of the interior store at once. Several gunmen, swordmen, all the sorts of weaponmen are here, browsing about the glass cases showing various things meant to pierce and stab. She kept a cool-head while walking along with the man in red, who carefully remained attentive to her presence as he casually approaches the counter at the back of the store.

"Hey there! Mind if we use the shooting range you have?"

As Vash spoke with the worker, Emma gazes at the store once more, stepping away from the blonde man in red for a moment as she looks to the glass case, seeking ammunition for her own weapon. She looked in amazement at the metal sheen of katana swords hung on support sticking out of the walls.

A step towards her direction and she abruptly stopped, a large figure passing right by her. "Oh! Excuse me-"

She looked up to the person, eyes wide.

The man peered down at her with a glare-like look. His eyes brown, his human face rough, his right eye permanently closed. Black hair short and spiky, his body wore a long dark fur coat that caped his form to his ankles, his heavy boots with metal clinks and belts, muddy with dark colors she knew at a glance to be dried blood.

But the most startling thing was what he carried at his back, that long hunk of iron that could crush her should it ever fell upon her, a long handle that passed the man's head. A weapon that no mere human could swing so easily even with both arms.

It was a sword, she knew at its shape. By far the biggest sword in this store and the thickest she has ever seen. The man's strength immediately declared in demonstration to his easy carry of this weapon.

"Hey! Why'd you stop?" A little boyish voice spoke as something glimmering fluttered from the man's shoulder. An insect-size humanoid with blue flamed-cut hair and beautiful eyes to match, pale skin, and insect-like wings that fluttered from his back. Emma stared, stunned.

_A... A fairy?_ She thought to herself, her eyes glittering with instant wonder and amazement; a mystical being right before her eyes, straight out of fairy-tales every orphan in Gracefield has read.

The fairy-like boy noticed the girl then, his wings rapid as he flew for her. She blinked at his sudden close proximity, her eyes even brighter at his further proof of existence at his up close appearance. A fairy! A real fairy! Ray would absolutely go nuts over this.

"Oh! Hello there! Sorry about him." The fairy referred to the large man behind him with a wave of his tiny arm. "He's a little rude, hardly knows when to watch out for others- Hey wait! Guts!"

The blue haired fairy turned around when the sounds of the man - Guts, and his heavy boots moving for the exit of the weaponry store. "At least apologize! Geez, that guy knows no manners. Sorry again!"

He waved his tiny hand bye to the little girl before he flew after his friend? just as the man leaves, barely zipping through between the cracks of the closing door, and catches up to the man outside. Herself staring after them.

A voice of light deadpan humor spoke behind her, "Well he was a ray of sunshine, now wasn't he?"

She turns around, finding Vash standing there, his sight follows after the people she had bumped into before looking back down to her, "You alright?"

"Oh. Yes, I..." Emma looked back to where the man and his tiny friend left, eyeing back at Vash, "Was that a fairy?"

He glanced back out the front door, "I think so? He might be called something else where he's from,"

The little girl, with a second opinion to support her witnessing, shaped her mouth an 'O' as she comprehended.

"...Wow." She did her best not to outwardly yell in complete expression of 'I just saw the most incredible thing by far,' less she would disrupt the casual shopping of everyone inside this gun store. Perhaps she was being too easily impressed, especially when something so small would normally pale to the demons she's seen, and also saw a giant purple robot? on screen. But frankly, everything have been impressive, she could hardly pretend indifference to all of it.

An amused grin on Vash at her reaction, practically seeing her glowing feelings, "Oh believe me. There's plenty more amazing things around here."

She nodded slowly in comprehension, "My family would have gone crazy over all of this. None of us have ever seen a city before." She did well to keep the longing sense at bay in mentioning her family.

"I'll bet. You'll be even more surprised at what else this whole place has," the blonde man in red chuckled lightly, giving one more look to the now distant figure of the man and that huge sword which honestly looked too big to even be called a sword, but then Vash has seen stranger weapons he supposes, there was even a wooden one he once saw someone have.

"We got a booth reserved for us. Ready to show me how good you are?" Vash asked Emma with encouraging blue eyes.

Emma wordily affirmed, adjusting her carry of her backpack as she then followed Vash to another door led by a worker, and to the next room.

/.\

They were led to one of the many available shooting range. The room they entered was only mildly occupied - few people taking their practice shots at their individual station separated by walls. An open space of an area where remnants of bullet holes behind punctured targets of paper sheets that has a bullseye on them, and mannequins with targets labelled on some parts of its body.

The shooting range echoed with the noise of gunshots, their sounds within this room enough to have Emma feel the vibrancy bounce from the walls. Even as she has become quickly accustomed to the usage of guns, the effects of its power was not yet been numb to her. The blonde man in red didn't seem to mind them though. Had he been here before? Was he a gun-wielder also, familiar with the repeating sounds of a triggered gun?

"Alright! Now then..." Vash knelt down to her level, meeting her with soft blue eyes, "There's a lot to knowing how to use a weapon like that one you have. I hope you don't mind if I watch over you closely."

"Sure," Emma agreed, equipping her rifle with the safety on that's caught by the man. "Do you know how to use a gun also, mister?"

"A little bit," he said vaguely. A deliberate statement that contracts to his eased unflinching reaction at the practiced gunshots resounding in the room. Emma wondered if there was a reason to this, or if he was just being modest.

She briefly glanced down at her rifle, "Can you give me any advice? It'd be really helpful to learn more how to better handle it."

She wasn't sure what qualifies an expert with a weapon like this. She believes she has the basic know-how and could perform excellent shots at the first try, but she wouldn't mind knowing if there was more she could do to improve herself. It had been a struggle with her fight against Lewis while in a rush to keep ahead from him, with his reaction speed far too much for her to hit his weak point. Maybe there was something she could learn from others who might have a greater experience than her.

"Ah. I don't know about that..." He sheepishly scratched the side of his face before adding, "What do you use those weapons for by the way, if you don't mind me asking? Do you hunt for food?"

She nodded slowly, "Sometimes I do. For hunting though, I mainly use the bow for that. The rifle is to keep me safe from dangerous creatures."

"What kind of dangerous creature?"

As he asked, Emma walked up to her assigned booth and up the steps to see over the table and through the open window. A fresh target of a poster with a bullseye on it. "In my world, there are a lot of these big creatures we call demons. I honestly don't know what they are exactly, but they can talk and act like people. They also eat humans."

Vash visibly flinched, his friendly grin dropped while wide blue eyes stared in surprise, sadness and horror enveloping his expression as he listens to her telling. "I was raised on a orphanage that my family and I thought had been raised in our whole life. We didn't know what the world outside was like until much later. It turns out, we were living in a world lived by these demons, and all of us, my family, and other orphans just like us, we were meant to be their food."

She kept her tone steady as she calmly explains, having gotten used to this and the morbid remorse of it when she told Gon and Killua her family's situation, "Some of us managed to escape the orphanage and into the wilderness, and were later helped by some friendly demons who didn't eat humans. They helped us find a bunker where there was all sorts of weapons. It's where I got this rifle from."

She picked up her rifle in demonstrative showing, "I had to learn how to use this to fight back somehow, against any demons that we come across and would try to hurt us."

"I see..." Vash said somberly, an etch of horror in his blue eyes as they flickered to the numbers on her neck, the bullet scar on her cheek, and the concealed wound at the side of her head. It was an all too familiar story of struggle, but with monsters thrown in the mix like it was the telling of a scary fairy tale, the big bad monsters prowling on the innocents, the greater horror of this was the reality of it for this young one. His heart is always jabbed with painful sorrow at hearing these turmoils. More so that innocent children are the victim of this. "So you had no choice but to protect yourself somehow..."

Emma looks to the ground with a sadness hinted in her eyes, relating to the man's expressed feelings. "It helped us a lot, and if we want to live, sometimes it can't be avoided."

His face broke into further sadness as he felt the urge to hug her, an instinct response to tell her otherwise, but then she raises her head back up, the following words coming forth by recent experience, "But... I've started wonder. Maybe it doesn't always have to be that way? I know it's a risk, but..."

She looks back down to her rifle, "I would like to first find a solution that doesn't have to have anyone die, that we can somehow work together instead. It might not work out, but I'd still want to try. Even though I do hate them for what they've done to my family and others, it's not like I want to kill anybody."

A gentle glimmer in his sky blue eyes upon those spoken words, a resonating compassion that warmed his bleeding heart. It was a rare achievement for someone to not be hardened by the severity of one's circumstances. That someone would carry and use that gun, but have the desire for a resolution without bloodshed. It couldn't make him feel anymore glad to hear this. That hope in her.

"Hm..." He looks to the poster target at the end of the shooting range, "I guess I can probably give a few pointers. Lets see what you got."

She then does so. A focused and professional handling of the rifle, as multiple bullets fired and pierce the bullseye poster. The rapid firing was completely unexpected for Vash as he jumped in startled and sprawled out hands - a child knowing how to shoot is one thing, to shoot an automatic about few more steps above that. He watches in superb awe at her steady handle of the decent weapon, the center of the bullseye repeatedly hit, few bullets touching the edge rim of the center dot.

The center target dot was practically eaten completely through, Emma switches the safety on button of the rifle and lowering it, looks back to Vash. "Was that okay?" She asked genuinely.

Vash blinked at her widely before sputtering out a response, "Uh, well... that was... pretty good actually." He scratched his head, "Did uh... did anyone happen to teach you how to use that rifle by chance?"

Emma thinks for a moment, "Not directly. I watched a man use a gun like this, how he reloads and holds it, I just followed what he did."

"You learned by watching?" He asked surprised, to which she nodded. "All in a week?"

"The first day actually," she clarified, much to his own exaggerated expressed amazement.

_This is a smart kid..._ Vash realized. Her form and hold of a rifle like that was more than decent, she certainly wasn't a novice, and all in a span of such an incredibly short time!

"I can hit moving targets too," she added. "But when it comes to moving and shooting at the same time, it's a little harder. I can still hit things but not as precise."

"For what it was, it's still pretty impressive," Vash commended. "I'd say you've got it better than a lot of people I've seen, especially around your age."

Emma smiled a bit at his compliment before beginning to reload her weapon. He observes with captured incredulous at her easy and quick change of the ammo clip to the next one at an easy reach from her backpack, clocking the gun. "I've never really held a gun like this until that day, when we met that man who lived at that bunker. He was just like us, and he also had to learn how to survive by knowing how to use this."

Her eyes sullen with sadness, "He lost a lot of his family. I'm hoping that, if I can win this competition, I'll be able to take not just my family, but him as well, and all the other orphans to the Human World. But then I met and made new friends here, and although I thought about it before, it really hit me how much other people must really want the wish too. I don't know if it's possible, but I want to make sure and see if I can share the wish with them as well."

Was she perhaps saying too much to this man whose name she doesn't even know? Perhaps, but then Emma felt no reason to keep her skeptics and caution, even if Ray would demand she does so otherwise - to protect herself from those who may do her harm. She did have faith of a common goal with the nameless man even for his attempt to rid her and her family, and proved her insight of that wolfish fighter whose name in the beginning was also eluded, with how she feels about this person in red coat now, she found it justified and safe to trust in his sense of humanity as well.

There has yet to be a person whom she felt compelled to be wary of, even if familiar with that person for all her life, thus far, she has not met anyone who reminds her of Mama, and as long as she can watch out for such people, then she can be treading safely with self-assurance. It's not to say that her own intuition is infallible, but Emma finds it tiresome to always be on edge around anyone - just as she learned from when she met Sonju and Musica, not everyone they come across are an enemy. The challenge would be how to differentiate one.

But for now, she believes she has a good read on the blonde man, even though he is a little odd, there was this nice, soothing warmness about him that she doesn't see how he could possibly mask himself in such a way. Even Mama, from when she was loving, always held a calm maturity to her, much like a cool lake in a calm forest with the trees there to protect all of them from the outside world, until it was time for them to walk pass it - in actuality, her trees having guarded the hideous truth around them while trying to keep the small creatures in the lake from ever escaping.

This person, however, with his brilliant red coat that reminded Emma of roses in picture books, he seemed much more open about himself, like a ball of sunshine whose rays extends to all. Even if he is withholding certain details about himself, he at least wasn't attempting to delude her questioning that she could pick up on - at least, that's what she felt.

A gentle smile at her said goal, Vash eyes back up to the shooting range with a thought-provoking look before she then asked him, "Do you have a wish also, mister?"

"Hm?" He said, a short second of pondering before he answered, "Want to know a secret?"

A sudden, supposed diverted subject, Emma looked a bit confused before slowly nodding. He knelt down to her level, bringing up his hand to speak discreetly, and whispered as Emma listened closely.

"The truth is... I don't have a wish."

Surprised, Emma looked at him with wide-eyes, "Huh?"

His eyes smiled, "I'm actually here because I want to help others also. You're not the only one who thinks the way you do. It really would be an ideal to find a resolution where everyone can get what they want, without having anyone hurt by it."

Emma watches him aside as he stands up and walks over to the table, picking up one of the many empty bullet shells that popped out from her weapon.

"You're on the right track. It'll be a hard one, but if you can find a way like that, it's worth a good try. Life's a pretty good gift for everyone to keep."

It was a romantic view of a man who understood the value of life, Emma regards him curiously and a questioning prompting inside her, but before she could discuss, with the tip of his thumb that gently touches the bottom of the empty shell, he flicks it, shooting it across by this seemingly meager gesture, and meets the hole that which Emma had made, a masterful perfected center - dead on.

Emma was in awe. "H-how did you do that?" The trajectory of that supposed simple flicker of his thumb, how it just flew as if it were a bullet. Was this another incredible feat an adult could achieve?

A goofy grin on Vash as his eyes smiled at her, "I had some practice."

He collected a handful of bullet shells, "Watch this!" Turning around, he flicked another empty shell and shot it through the hole yet again, all while he was facing the opposite way.

"Whoa!" Emma's eyes widened as Vash demonstrated skillful firing of flicking each and every empty shell through the hole. In different positions such as shooting the shell under his self-lifted leg, and twirling three times with his eyes closed. He'd even got on the table, bend down where he sees the target between his legs upside down, and still managed to flick the bullet shell through the center bullseye.

At her astute observance and greater astound, she realizes that he'd been shooting not only through the same hole, but - almost impossibility - the exact same trajectory. Her eyes adjusting to his quick draw of firing shells, not one of them seem to lean close to the rim of the center. While evidence is shown by the markings of her bullets that imprinted upon the wall behind the target, the shells he fires with just his thumb struck the single embedded bullet in the wall again, and again, and again - every time. His precision far exceeding her own.

For his finale, he balances the shell on his nose with his head hung back and his own back facing the target, a slight sway of himself as he kept the shell standing up, he then flicked the shell with the use of his thumb and this time finger, and it flew with a wonderful spin, going through the hole just like the others, and striking the embedded bullet in the wall just the same as all the others.

"Tada!" He demonstrated with jazzed hands and a wide toothy smile.

Emma stared at him in stunned awe, and once she came back to her senses, she clapped excitedly with arms extended in front of her. "That was awesome, mister! How were you able to make perfect hits without even looking?"

He grinned wider as he grabbed his chin in great, sparkling pride to his skill-show and impressing the spectating little girl (if only he could have the same kind of admiration from women). "Well, having a keen eye helps, but so does keeping a memory of where the target is - as long as you can tell or know when it might move or not, and probably a small ounce of gut instincts also."

Emma looked down to her rifle in handle with remaining awe in her round eyes, and they return to the man. "Can you teach me how to do that?"

The end of his bravado of boast, he blinked at the girl a few times, his eyes glancing quickly at her held rifle. An instant prodding from a small part of his heart tangling with the rest. It reminded him of a similar scenario, of little children witnessing his feats and wanting to learn from him. Vash always managed to dissuade or divert their attention elsewhere.

His heart mourned for the little girl's trouble, but to learn how to shoot more precisely - how to take_ a life_ more precisely, that's something he simply can't do, nor allow for others to do as well, let alone a little girl. If it was for hunting or fending off against monsters, that'd be much more understandable (though he would still be squeamish about it). This seemed like a harmless request of how to flick bullet shells like how he does, but it was pretty apparent enough what she really meant by that request.

And yet, even with this thought, he did not rush to decline this time. Compare to all those who would sometimes request him for his tutelage, inspired by his_ infamy_, all having their own reasons of a vendetta towards someone, or use any helpful guidance he may give them for ulterior motives and criminal acts, this girl did not sound for vengeance or intent to harm others, making her unique from those he's met in his travel. Her words of consideration for those aside herself is sincere, as is her preference for a peaceful outcome. It was a thing to applaud for, to encourage for.

But Vash knew the price of that sort of decision, he himself was only able to go as far as he has because of how good of a gunslinger he was, and the worst of it came when the nasty scars piled up. That was due to his own beginning years and inexperience at the time, and he did not want that to happen to her as well. But her way of thinking wasn't bad in the least!

It really puts a perspective on things when he sees others having ideas that resonated with his, although not completely. Forced to either suffer the consequence of sparing a life, or to use that weapon against monsters out to eat her and her family. This really was a fickle situation, putting a test to his own morality, and how far he would be willing to bend it to help the little girl. That want of hers for a better outcome, wondering, hoping, trying. If she could still cling onto that hope of sparing a life, then that was a good hint of what she could be capable of, there was hope for her still - hope for someone who doesn't believe killing to be an option she has to take.

...An amazing thought came to him then, if he could perhaps show her the ways of avoiding the toughness of that decision, to easily maneuver closer to it, should he be willing to reveal that path for her.

Just like how Rem has done for him.

It also wouldn't hurt to guide her a few things so that she wouldn't be killed through any participation of this competition. Not in ways of self-defense that would shoot a person cold-blooded, but rather, a diversion-offense, enough for her to get away and survive. For her life, and the life of those after hers, to be spared.

It was also hard to say no to an adorable face like that. Vash knew he was a weak man.

"I guess I could... but-!" He said suddenly, loudly. "Here's the deal."

He squatted back down and raised his pinky finger, his face serious despite the childish manner of his raised pinky, "I want you to promise not to use it to hurt anyone. You can use it though if it's to help others and protect yourself, okay?"

She looked at his offered pinky in surprise, her green eyes observing the man shortly before a soft smile came to her face.

"Okay. I will." She grabbed his pinky then. A handful grab - as someone who had been secluded from the workings of the world outside her original place of living aside from what the books tells her, there was none she's read that mentioned this type of "handshake," and therefore, was not familiar with the concept of a Pinky Promise. A blatant stare from Vash before his cheeks puffed with mirth while Emma's turn came to be confused.

"You're supposed to hold it like this," he helped by pulling his pinky and then meeting hers, holding around it with a gentle close.

"Oooh," Emma said in epiphany, further widening his smile.

"That's alright. It took me a moment to get it too," he stated, bobbing his and her hand twice. "There. Now we're bound to this promise, so make sure to keep it."

Releasing their hold of each other's pinky fingers, he then rises to a stand. "Alright! Now pay close attention, it might take a moment to catch how I'm tossing these. They tend to go just a _little_ fast."

She eagerly and firmly nodded with a huff and slight pump of her clenched fist, "I understand. I'll do my best!" She said affirmatively, and Vash quietly chuckles delightfully.

Proving her quick assessment and learning reflex, Emma learned how to flick a bullet shell in just a couple of seconds, several seconds more of trying, and she struck the center of the bullseye. Half a minute of learning and watching how Vash shoots his bullet shells, the position of the thumb and how the shell was resting upon the tip, Emma had achieved her own record of perfect bullseyes, watching as the shells she tossed bounced off the red center, much to the incredulous amazement of Vash. For him, it took quite a while to make those kinds of perfect shots, this bright little girl really was something else.

They spiced up their little shell throwing contest as Vash grandiosely cartwheeled outside the booth, tossing the bullet shell and still managed to hit the center perfectly. Emma would have liked to do the same but the table in the booth between her and the range was too high, so she ran, hopped, and twirled instead. It threw off the trajectory of the shell she tossed, and while certainly difficult on her first try that it barely even touched the poster, on her second, she managed to hit the target at the inner rims, and after her third, the bullet shell had struck the center.

"I did it!" She cheered with raised arms, and Vash applauded for her in great awe.

"You really_ do_ learn fast!" He said, himself the audience now as he watches her gradually become more acute to hitting the target, eating the doughnuts from his brown bag as if he was eating popcorn at a movie.

She spun around to face him, her face exuberant with the kind of smiling joy she hadn't felt in quite some time. "It's just as you said mister. It was a little tricky, even after memorizing its position. You got every shot though! You're actually a really good shooter, aren't you?"

"Oh well I wouldn't say that..." he said bashfully, eating another mouthful of doughnut, deciding to sit back and watch as Emma resumed her shell tossing. Thirty more seconds passed and Emma's precision while moving about hyper-actively quickly adapted to only perfected hits, until she was out of bullet shells - but the issue of moving and hitting precisely had now been satiated. Though Emma wondered if she should use remaining bullets to continue their play, she knew better than to throw away bullets uselessly.

"OH! That reminds me," Emma said suddenly, looking back to Vash. "I need to restock on ammunition."

"Oh," Vash recuperates as he looks down to the brown bag, flipping it upside down and crumbs of doughnuts only fell. "Looks like I'll have to restock too."

Emma giggled lightly, Vash nicely smiling at instigating the reaction again before then gently ushering her along, "Let's get going then."

She agreed, peeking around the booth as she noticed a few onlookers at theirs taking an interest enough to poke their heads out for the firings of empty shells than actual bullets. She picks up all her things and follows after Vash in near-skips, leaving the room together with him, and in better spirits, much to Vash's own proud accomplishment.

"Any other place you're thinking of stopping by tonight?" He asked as they browsed through the glass counters and all its products of weaponry, crouching down to Emma's level as they await for her new rounds of ammo for both her rifle and pistol. The arrows for her bow she can make easily herself. She paused for a moment, thinking over the question.

"Well... there are a lot of things I like to see. Maybe I might just end up wandering around."

Vash hummed a bit, looking at her with gentle eyes and an encouraging frown, "A little girl shouldn't be out here so late though, don't you have an assigned home around here?"

She looked up to the guns and rifles hung upon the wall beyond the counter, her face calmly expressed. "I do. I'm... not ready to go back yet. I wanted to see a little bit of what being at a city is like. If I want to be able to escape the Demon World to the Human World with my family, I should know a little about what a world that might be something this would be like. If there are cities like the Wired we might end up finding."

"I see..." Vash said, the balm of his hand under his chin as he seem to look at whatever enchanted items and etc behind the glass, not seeming to be focused on anything, but seems to be in thought. Emma wondered what he could be thinking about before looking back up when a worker came back and gave her the ammo. Just the sort of rounds her guns can fire.

"Want me to show you around?" She then heard Vash asked, looking back at the taller man, his friendly grin her way. "I've been around the city enough, I can tell a few things I know about it. What do you think?"

Emma observed his face in few glimpses, affirming the sincerity of his offer, "Really? But aren't you waiting for your friend?"

"It'll be alright. We might not go too far, do a little window shopping around here. I can name you a few places you can check out sometime yourself. Some good restaurants also. Oh! There's also this place called an "arcade," that place has all kinds of games. Although, I don't really know much how to play most of them, to be honest. Hehe."

She nodded, brimming with captured intrigue, "All that sounds great. I'd be happy if you can show me around, or anything you can tell me about the city."

"Well, you're awfully quick to accept it," Vash scratched the side of his face as his friendly expression fell slightly to a befuddled concern, "I mean, I can promise you that I won't hurt you or anything , but you should really be careful around strangers. Never know what they might be hiding."

"Mm. Yeah, but I trust you," she said unhesitant, "I'll have faith that you're a good person, since you've helped me enough already. Plus, you remind me of another person, he had the same nice, kind eyes that you do." The sort of kind eyes that seemed so much warmer than even when her mama had been kind, it was honestly quite a dazzling contrast she's picked up on, the kindness that reminded her of Lucas. A soft gaze that cares and consoles anyone those eyes may stumble upon, a compassion and understanding to the hidden pains hiding beneath oneself.

"Oh well now you're gonna make me blush. I feel honored," He sheepishly scratched the back of his head with a hint of rosy cheeks.

"Also," she then added, mentioning with a firm point of her voice, "It'll be little tiresome to distrust everyone I might come across, don't you think? I wouldn't want to live a life like that."

She could feel Ray banging against her head to refute her statement, but it was just how she felt. It was good to be cautious, and to assume safely that everyone would be out to get her so to know when to immediately act, it had been so for Mama, but it's not the same for everyone, and besides, what sort of life would it be if she remained callous and on guard around all those who may be potential friends? Only pain, as she thought back to the nameless man as an example.

The smile on Vash grew even softer as his eyes did too. Well, that's it then, he is going to look out for this little flower of sunshine.

"Alright then!" He said with exuberance, standing up with his high of a stature. "The doughnuts can wait for maybe _just_ a little bit. There's a few things you should watch out for, but for the most part, there's a lot you're gonna like around here."

Entrusting his words, Emma starts for the exit of the gun store, alongside the red-long coat wearing blonde man, who opens the door for her, "After you, young lady."

"Oh. Thank you," she politely rescinded, and then walks out before him, taking to the paved street as she follows his lead again, to anywhere around the lot as a simple sightseeing, a minuscule essence of the Wired.

/.\

In the dark alley grimed with littered trash and wet puddles from a leak at one of the pipes, Garou sat upon the dumpster, legs crossed in a meditative position. The white aura flows around his body, waving without pattern, freely. He raises his hand in close examination to the aura surrounding his limb before lowering it and resting it over his knee. He hasn't a clue what was it that dressed it, though there was a faint idea.

He had learned about the concept of Chi from his old Master Bang, the belief of life energy flowing through all living forms, including the earth. He wasn't sure if this is what it was, since as far as he knows, it wasn't something that was supposed to be _seen_. Nor just up and appear the way that this has. Before he should think more on this though, he ought to calm down the squirming aura, it was starting to take a damper on him.

So he meditated, a single intake of a breath, holding it in for a moment. He feels the aura around him calmed, its wriggly state coming to a smoother form, and now hangs over his whole being like a worn thick veil as he releases his breath softly. He raises his arm, his sharp wide gaze closely examining the aura with intrigue as the city noise of honking horns and walking pedestrians faintly hums in the background.

Doesn't seem harmful thus far, in fact, there was a faint sense of power he feels. And ever since that stomach agony finally passed, he felt one-hundred percent again, or rather, he never felt better, like he was at one-hundred and _ten_ percent. Whatever this stuff he was wearing, it was warm, bright yet doesn't light up this alley as if it didn't really exist; ghostly almost, hence his first conclusion came that this must be the Chi his old master talked about, which even then didn't really make sense. He was sure that his ex-teacher mentioned energy flow to be inside the body, not out.

The second conclusion would be he had ate something weird, maybe one of those spicy berries giving out a bigger kick than he was prepared for, causing him to suddenly erupt this aura-like substance from his body. Then there was the third conclusion, the face of that boy with green tipped hair coming to mind, and the very strong punch he took as if it was a cannonball but ten times stronger. Whatever that kid did to him, the timing actually fits perfectly, as after that gut punch, he had been carrying that weight of pain inside his stomach throughout the rest of the Preliminary until now, and only now could he not fight it back anymore, and then this appears replacing the pain, which means compare to the first and second, the third seemed much more plausible.

He clenched his fist curiously, his brows furrowed as he had a mind to move the aura in some other ways. The wriggly state returned, but at his intent, the shape turned jagged and sharp, and he looked on in surprise. Raising a brow, he closed all but one finger, leaving his index out, and inputs all his focus onto it. The aura reacted, the jagged shapes dwindling and moved to the finger. The aura seems to register by his will and intentions.

Further intrigued, he inputs more focus into his index, the jagged becomes spikier, much faster. Willfully, he drew back his ferocity, and instead let the aura around his finger expand. He watched with widened eyes as the aura stretches from the tip of his fingers, rising into a thick wavy line out of aura, and had it shape into an almost unstable looking orb above his finger. At its near wretched appearance, he peers with a narrow gaze at the orb, willfully telling the orb to remain steady and stable, until it seemed to register his intentions just that, the orb and the line its attached to his finger much steadier.

"Is that guy alright?"

He did not pay any mind to the spoken whispering comment out from the alley and onto the sidewalk, fascinated by his aura. He uncurled all five of his fingers then, putting his intentions on all of them, and in suit, slow wavy lines of aura rises from each of them, and shaping the ends of the lines of aura into smooth marble-sized orbs.

"Hell if I know. Guy looks like he's on "something". Probably thinks his fingers look like worms."

He paid attention to that statement then, and abruptly turned his head for the speakers on the sidewalk. The duo jolt at his eyes now on them, one clattering with the full-set of armor he wore, the other - a much shorter fellow - with blonde hair in a thick braid and a red coat over his black set of clothing. Golden eyes meeting his wolf-like gilded gaze.

"A... Are you okay sir?" The one wearing armor asked.

Garou stared at them silently, unaware or uncaring of this bringing gradual unease to the brothers that stood outside the alley. He curled his fingers to a close once more, the short rope-lines and their individual orbs retracting back to his glowing worn shell, except for his index finger. He raises the finger a little higher, and without looking at it, mindfully and willfully had the orb grow slightly bigger, its swaying line to his body stretching longer.

"Can you see this?" He asked them.

The Elric brothers spared each other an uncertain glance while Garou continued to stare at them, awaiting their responses. It was the one in full-body armor that answered, "See... see what?"

"You mean your finger?" The shorter one asked, very much a look that already determined Garou to be a loony, but Garou made no heed to that.

"The orb. Do you see an orb?" He clarified.

Once more, the brothers looked at each other. "N...no...?" Again, the armored one, Alphonse, answered, and he clamped his armored gloved hands over where his mouth is, afraid and dreading that he might have said the wrong answer.

"...huh." Was Garou's reaction, and then returned his attention to his glowing hand. Losing immediate interest in the brothers, confirming his suspicions as well. So this was invisible to others but himself?

The Elric brothers didn't know what to make of Garou's response, so they just awkwardly resumed their way, slowly and carefully walking away from the very clearly disturbed man living in an alleyway.

"You know, there's probably a rehab center somewhere around here. Maybe you should give one of them a visit." The eldest brother among them cannot help but remark.

Alphonse gently chided him, "That's really not a good way to put it Ed..."

"I'm just saying."

Garou ignored them, returning to his experiment of making the aura do anything his will tells it to. It felt alien yet strangely natural, and he's become invested in its ability of movement the longer he remains here and playing around with this newly worn power. Inevitably, he ended up doing this for quite some time, and all the while, he'd been steadily and surely become more accustomed to its existence.

Testing, watching, and creating stringed orbs that expands from his elbow, knees, the tip of his toe. Things beside his finger however proved to be more difficult, but a little persistence and he was able to accomplish, though a noticeable strain came to him as he felt the urge to huff out a breath after every try, as if he just finished running. Apparently, making shapes with the aura can take a good stamina out of him.

His interest in this new and strange veil flowing around him like a curious child with a new toy suddenly thrown at his feet. Sweats builds up from this exercise, however. Yet he resumed on until he was able to make from his finger a decent, clean shape of triangles, squares, and even cylinders (the toughest one to do).

After taking up all this time getting used to the "worn" aura, having had his fun of this latched wonder, he then considers hiding it or putting it away somehow, as it was starting to feel heavy on him, his breathing even heavier.

Stilling his breath and looking at his arm again, he clenches his hand, willing his next intentions into motion. He observes as the aura slowly sinks into his body, buried under his flesh, until not a remnant of aura was seen. A sense of "better controlled" washed him and he lets out a relieved sigh, feeling much less tired now - though still out of breath, sweat dripping from his entire being.

It was a work out to even keep the aura on, he had a bad feeling that, had he kept it on any longer, he'd probably pass out. This is the preferred state then, having his aura show itself for an extended period of time seems to drain his energy. He should keep attention to that detail.

"Hm..."

Sweats of his exertions slid down the side of his face, controlling the rhythm of his breathing to a steadier pace, as a sudden idea came. With his raised fist, he puts all his focus into his fist. The aura reemerges, shrouding his fist in a bright glow, a feeling of great power fueling inside his hand. It looked burning hot, but he hardly feels its heat.

He hops down from the dumpster, looking at his glowing fist as he walks forward by a few steps. He then eyes at the building in front of him, built by dark bricks cemented in stacks for permanence. He gazed back at his fist, and slowly, very slowly, he un-balled his hand, spreading out the fingers and calmly reaches for the wall.

He gently palm-pressed the surface.

Upon contact, an instant pump of the stone that punched into the concrete, though not all the way through. A huge indent that was far bigger than Garou's own size, his placed hand at the center. The shock of the meager infliction of his palm-press reaching the ground and cracking the edge until it reached passed his feet. The bricks broken, the cement dust. It was as if a massive fist just touched upon this wall, and left its imprint.

Garou gawked. Simply just the meager touch with the barest of his intention was enough to make this kind of effect. His wonder and theory proven at this instance. He steadily retracted his hand and regarded it momentarily, somewhat stunned and even intimidated by it.

This could come in handy.

He preferred using his own strength and skills, with every sort of technique he can absorb into his body to use against and deflect every hero he meets - earned through pain-staking efforts. He wouldn't mind the generosity, as long as the giver doesn't challenge or change or pervert his mission, he certainly hadn't asked for it though. Well, it's not as if he knew how to get rid of it if he wanted to. So for now, he won't complain keeping this with him.

Whether some kind of force or another was on his side that granted him this power, he'll be sure to never give his thanks, as now this ability - for its unknown quality and advantage he may yet uncover still - is his to use.

He tightens his clenching of his fist again and brings back down the aura into his flesh. Just then, he perked at the echoing sound of police sirens singing at a distance. "Uh oh. Probably should have tested this some other place. Time to make my exit."

He climbs up the wall of the building in front of him, hoping twice until reaching the roof. Leaving the scene, jumping more roofs until stopping at the fifth one, he goes to the edge and views the area.

"Guess I should find a place to sleep. If I remember right, there's supposed to already be a room ready for me." He probably should have asked before he left that hospital. Oh well, he'll just find whatever place he can rest for the night, maybe make it his own base too. He also sees a forest at the distant, maybe he can find a cave or a shed to crash.

His gilded glare takes note of the buildings and streets around himself, deciding his next move, when something caught his eye. "Huh? Is that...?"

At the next street, a familiar bob of orange hair stands out from the rest, right by a tall blonde man in red coat, in front of what appears to be a doughnut stand he demonstratively looks to be excitedly ordering from. Without another thought, he jumps from the roof to the next alleyway, and crosses the pavement and street, eyes purely focused on the small beacon of orange hair.

"-That's a lot of doughnuts you're getting, mister. You could get a tummy ache if you ate all that," the little girl apprised factually.

"Mmmm. Probably. But I just can't help myself. I'm something of a doughnut addict I guess you can say," the taller man said before adding on to his selection and choosing at the treat stand. "Oh, I'll have ten of those with the sprinkles on top. Honestly, it's amazing how many kinds there are! I'm basically in heaven right now!"

Garou waltz up behind the child and tapped her shoulder. "Hey."

She had felt the piercing gaze of someone before the tap and Emma hopped in a startle, her voice jumping to her throat and turned quickly. Immediate reaction of wary and alert until she recognized him at once. "Huh-? Oh! Garou!"

Her round eyes regarding him as she calmed down, fully facing the wolfish competitor, "You're up this late too?"

Muffled by five doughnuts hanging out from his mouth, Vash looks over at the sound of Emma, and acknowledged the white-silverish haired teen with a pretty gruff looking expression. He sees though that Emma acted pretty familiar with the person, and watches them with two bags filled with doughnuts carried in his arms and biting away the treats already in his mouth.

"I should say the same for you," Garou stated, head tilting at her. "What are you doing out her this late? Not with your friends this time?"

"They're at their assigned homes. I couldn't really sleep, so I figured I could walk around the city for a while," Emma answered, adjusting the strap-hold of her rifle as she smiled slightly at him.

Squatting down, Garou meets her at eye-level, further inquiring, "So you're by yourself? Or do you know this doughnut guy over here?"

Emma introduced the tall man whose name still is not given, but has since accepted him as simply the nice man, "I met him just tonight. He's been helping me a lot and is really good company."

"Oh well that's sweet of you to say," Vash responded in quiet happiness and another hit of soft bashfulness at her sweet words, successfully swallowing the treats before greeting with friendly enthusiasm to Garou with a wave of his hand. "Hey there! Nice to meet you. You a friend of hers?"

Garou stared at him in blatant regard, then reverted back his attention back to the little girl. Ouch. Vash certainly felt that one. Or maybe this guy wasn't exactly the sociable type.

"You should probably think twice before coming out here this late by yourself," Garou looked at the rifle she had by her backpack, and prodded the barrel end of it with his finger. "Well, you're a tough enough kid. Long as you can keep watch of yourself. Plenty of guys around that might be able to snap these like toys."

He stopped his prodding just as she answered, "I have heard that cities can be dangerous. It's really beautiful so far but I know I have to be careful. Mister here showed me a few places around this block and told me a lot of things about the Wired. I've never seen anything like it before, and so many people! Have you seen a lot of it yet?"

Garou shrugged. "Not really. Been dealing with stomach cramps lately," he said vaguely, looking aside as he spotted the flashing lights of police cars go by, not stopping by this way, fortunately for him.

She noticed his side glance and the police sirens, though withheld any questions to it, asking his well being, "Are you still hurting? Do you need to see a doctor?"

He denied with an usher away hand, "It's passed already. Feeling a lot better now. A _whole_ lot better."

"Oh. Well that's good," relieved to hear that, as she does see how much better he looked now - pain-free as it seems.

He nodded. "Hey, there's supposed to be rooms already assigned for us, right? Know where I can find them?"

She affirmed with her own nod, "Yeah, there's actually a help station you can visit to find what home you'll be staying at. Do you want me to show you where it is?"

"Think you can?" He asked, looking back at Vash as Emma did the same. Meeting both gazes, Vash waved reassuringly with his leather gloved hand.

"Don't mind me. I think it's about time you two should get going to your new homes now. It's way past midnight. You should get some rest," Vash urged them with a friendly smile. "My friend might be back any moment now anyway. It was really nice hanging out with you, Emma."

The little girl turned to him, agreeing happily. "It really was. Will I see you around here again?"

A sad hint of a smile at her asking that question. "I don't know honestly..."" Vash softly answered, "I tend to move around a lot. I'm never really in one place for long."

It also doesn't help how often in trouble he somehow always managed to be founded by. He would rather that she wouldn't be so close to the kinds of danger that follows him, but he certainly won't forget the sweet and mature little lady he's made a friend of.

"I see. Then I hope to see you again, mister," she walked over to him and offered her pinky, "Thank you for tonight. Lets do something together next time if we meet, okay?"

Never in his life could he fight off an adoring smile as he warmly takes her pinky with his own, bobbing their hands up and down. "I guess I wouldn't mind that too much. Be safe, Emma. If you ever need any help and see me around, you can come up to me and say hi. Although, I'm sure there's plenty of people around willing to help also, but I'll be sure to do what I can."

His blue eyes then turned somber, "This will be a tough competition. Hopefully tonight is a step that'll get you ahead, but there's a lot more you'll need to watch out for, and there'll be times when if you feel lost and afraid, keep holding onto those ideas you have. It takes a lot of heart and power to follow through with them always, so I want you to be as determined as you can get."

She nodded firmly, her own expression invoking understanding and in thought, as they then released their pinky fingers. Garou quietly observing them from aside as Vash then raised his hand for Emma and him. "You two have a good night now. Take care, and best of luck for the next event!"

Emma waved goodbye to Vash, the glee in her heart in meeting such a wonderfully kind man. After seeing him leave, she turns back for Garou. "We can go check where your new home will be now."

He nodded, eyes following the man before regarding her once more, "Alright. Where to?"

"Well...We'll have to ask any one of the workers here. They should help direct us to the nearest help station."

He sounded out his fathoming with a hum, and rises to a stand, "Alright. Lead the way."

They first spoke to the man tending to the doughnut stand and he helpfully pointer the nearest station they are looking for. Quite a couple of blocks away but nothing too bad. She thanked him for his assist, and began her way, followed by Garou close behind. They walked for a few blocks, Emma making quick amazement to the billboards shown from above the rooftops of the tall buildings, and everything else around themselves with a wowed face while Garou watches her reaction.

"This really is your first time at a city, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah. It's really awesome," was her answer, seeing all of it around her like the little kid that she was, the whole place practically a theme park for her.

She really has been secluded most of her life, Garou realized. What is she like twelve or something? It's almost actually kind of outrageous, this coming from someone who has known and seen city after city, dozens of them neighboring each other, and if there wasn't a city there was a forest, the land that goes with it and the ocean outside of it.

Honestly, he'd pick a forest over a city any day. Ruthless as the wilderness is, it was better than the kinds of hidden corruption cities are almost always promised to have, corporations run by the soulless who couldn't give a damn about those at the bottom, as if infested by cockroaches, plus, he had to keep away from places heroes might pop out of, until his time was ready for when he would fight all of them at once.

A sudden thirst came to him as he rubbed his chin with the back of his hand in ridding of another drop of sweat, a slight huff from himself. His experimentation of the newly born ability hiding underneath his flesh having taken quite a quantity of stamina out of him. He wondered if he should keep it inside if it causes this much energy.

"Are you tired?"

He looked back to the little girl who noticed his expression. She was always attentive to her surroundings it seems, pretty perceptive, a little like himself. "Don't mind it," he tells her. "Just need another bottle of cola and I'll be fine."

The sugar in those drinks would do nicely to keep him moving and awake until they may find whatever place he's staying at. There might be a vending machine or a food stand that gives away sodas somewhere around here. He could be a little picky though, always a fan of glass bottles instead of the cans.

"What's cola?"

He walked into a pole then. Head banged against the metal that did nothing to make him flinch, yet he looked stunned all the same. Emma stared up at him in soundless surprised, too caught off guard for an instant word to appear as she watched Garou simply standing in front of the pole with his forehead pressed against it. She was ready to ask if he's alright when he sharply turned for her. Disbelieving eyes at her, and a slow point of his finger for her bewildered face.

"...You don't know what_ Cola_ is?"

It's advertised literally in so many billboards throughout the whole city. How's a perceptive kid not notice that?

"U-uh, no?" She answered, confused. "I mean, I've seen some pictures of bottles with names like that around here. I don't really know what they are though. Are they names from a company?"

"It's what they_ are_." He said as if that was the answer to everything. Life. The universe. Just how sheltered was this kid? Kids got to have some bit of sugar drinks every now and then. Maybe not all the time but to be completely oblivious about it - shit, does her world even _have_ Cola? Now that's a thought he doesn't want to keep mulling in his head about, and he felt genuine pity for the girl.

"O-oh." She said. She was utterly lost.

He stared at her in remaining shock, and then abruptly turned back, moving towards a different direction. "Come on."

Taken aback, Emma quickly picks up the pace after him, the roles of whose leading who suddenly switched as if yanked from her feet. "W-where are we going? Did I say something wrong?"

"There was _a lot_ of wrong with what you said," he responded without elaborating, looking straight ahead with sharp eyes searching intensely for something.

"I-I'm sorry?" She said with fumbling comprehension that which she cannot find. "I don't really understand..."

"You will," He said with firm sureness. "Just got to find - Aha! There it is. Hey, watch both way before crossing."

Though at a loss, Emma follows his bluntly given command, looking both ways before crossing the street with him. What Garou ended up leading them to was another food stall, but a mobile one. A small restaurant inside the cart cart, with seats installed at its side, the warm smell of cooked beef and spices, and other wonderful flavors of scent that drew Emma in, though she kept her confusion still.

"Hey. You got any soda?" Garou asked when they approached the counter. The chef, wearing a white bandana and apron over his purple-teal sleeves, nodded.

"Yes sir. Would you like something to eat as well?"

Garou paused in consideration. Beside from thirst, he was feeling a little hungry as well, the aura-experimenting efforts having burned most of the fat he just accumulated during his stay at the hospital and all the food he was given. He raises two fingers in ordering. "Two bottles of cola and some gyoza."

"Right away sir!"

The chef getting to work, Garou sits down at the second chair, gesturing Emma to take a seat as well. Still very much confused, she climbs up the first seat and planted herself right next to Garou. "Um. So is Cola a drink-?"

"Here you are. Your gyoza will be ready momentarily," the chef announced, a quick deliverance from the small cooler he has by his feet.

Emma watches with curiosity as the chef gives two bottles made out of glass, a dark brown color filled inside. A red sticker banner wraps around the body, reading in white cursive letters spelling: Coca Cola.

Garou grabs the glass bottle that was placed in front of Emma and pulls off the bottle cap with his finger and thumb - now Emma may not be familiar with soda bottle drinks, but even she could have distinguished that there was a reason for there being a bottle cap opener nearby. Yet before she could be amazed by his easy picking off the cap, he puts back the now open bottle on the table in front of her.

"Here. Drink it."

There was no further explanation. After saying so, he then removed the bottle cap from his own cola bottle, and starts taking a good sip of its contents, sighing in relief once putting the bottle back down. Emma paid attention to his action and expression, looking back at the bottle in front of her. With calm movements, she carefully takes grab of the soda drink with both hands, smelling it first. There was a fizziness that caught her nose, it reminded her of the Club Soda Gracefield had, but there was an undeniable amount of sweetness to this drink, the scent unique to her as well. She already had sugar from the doughnut a while ago, but admittedly, she is rather curious.

Looking back at Garou who was waiting for her while watching expectantly, she gazes back to the bottle in her hands, picks it up and takes a sip of the Cola.

Her eyes widened, a sparkle in those bright greens as an explosion of sweetness and rich flavor met her tongue. It tasted ripe, fizzy, sugary, and delicious.

Now she understands. This is a taste of the Human World.

Garou observed the instant enjoyment to what was obviously the girl's first ever taste of this world-wide phenomenon of a drink, an entertaining sight, hearing her exclaim, "Mm! Incredible! This soda tastes incredible!"

Garou nodded, pointing to the drink in her hands, "That there is Cola. You either don't have that, or whatever orphanage you lived at is out of touch with the rest of your world."

"Mm! Oh, well... you're not wrong," Emma confided, taking another small gulp of the soda drink, touching upon another splash of the flavor that turned spicy cold down her throat it made her shiver slightly. She sets the bottle back down, "Most of what we thought about our world was what we read from books. There was a lot of things the other orphans and I always dreamed of trying. All the places to visit, and everything."

"Don't you go out often?" He asked. He remembered her mentioning once when they were at Beast Valley, her orphanage being a school for her as well. So excluding the immediate thought of her ever going out and attending public schooling - a bullet dodge he should say - there ought to be other places she must have seen.

"We had a whole forest outside our house where we play at all the time, but beyond that was a wall that surrounded our home. We've never actually been or seen the outside world until recently."

Garou blinked, "For your whole life?" At her nod, he closes his head in towards her, "Not even once?"

"Mm. When me, Ray, and Norman - they're the other orphans of our family, were very little, we went to the gate. We weren't supposed to, but we were really curious. It's what separated us from the outside world. We never really saw anything then, just the other end of the tunnel."

That tunnel that continued to haunt her with riled up feelings of painful dread and sorrow, of horror and first instance of betrayal to the trusted figure of her family's entire life. Garou immediately knew the strangeness of her seclusion, which sounds almost extreme if she and her family never once stepped outside their home, beyond that orphanage.

"Don't you get newspapers, or have a radio, or something?" He asked with an arched white brow.

She rested the tip of the soda bottle against her chin, hery green eyes subtly sullen as she stared at the counter with no focal point, "No. We didn't have any of those. Not even a phone... Pointing out all of that, it really should have been obvious to us that something was off, but at the time, we just accepted everything as normal."

And now Garou was even more baffled, frowing. What orphanage doesn't have any access to news? Never seen the outside or even allowed to? How's an orphanage supposed to run if they don't even have phones to be contacted by those interested in adopting? Or what if there was an emergency? Hell, her world might even have Cola but she wouldn't know because she pretty sounds completly separated from society.

"There was definitely a type of communication device used," Emma resumed, "but it was only ever accessed by our Mama in a secret room. But anyway..." Her clutch of the soda bottle tightens, fingerprints pressed against the hard cold glass as a haunting memory comes back to her. "We had to leave that orphanage, as it turned out, it wasn't safe for any of us. It hurt though, having to leave it, it was the only home we knew."

Garou's sharp gaze trails after the numbers tattooed on her neck. She looked obviously well-fed, and had just explained the loving life that she basically saw the other orphans her family, her caretaker her Mama, but to what she tells thus far, and those number she has and doesn't seem to mind as if it was a birth mark than it was something that normally shouldn't even be on a person - at least in his world it doesn't.

He remembered then her declare, his meeting with her a second time - her want to save her family. His white brows furrowing, a question came to him and about to leave his mouth until the waft of warm food takes his attention, as the chef brings out his orders. Rows of gyoza dumplings set out for him in two plates, and other utensils and small bowls granted for him to use.

"Here you are. Enjoy your meal!" The chef says, and begins cleaning his kitchen.

"Thanks," Garou said, taking a small bowl and chopsticks. He starts picking up one gyoza and holds it by the chopsticks over his bowl when he paused, and then shows it to the little girl. "You ever had gyoza before?"

"Those are dumplings right?" Emma asked, at his continuing holding out of the gyoza, she blinked first before her brain registered and she sets down the Cola bottle on the counter-table and reaches out with her hands, carefully getting a hold of the chopsticks by his allowing giving and holding the gyoza by between the tips meanwhile. "Um, thank you. I've had it before, but they were more round. I don't know if they had the same name. I didn't realize they can come in different shapes."

"There's a bunch of names that goes with different kinds of dumplings," he said, staring at her for a bit before looking away. He finds a menu stationed at the napkin holders and picks it up, looking through it briefly with Emma watching him curiously. His sharp gaze regards the chef once more, "Hey. Can I make another order?"

"Of course," the chef said, "What else would you like?"

"All of them."

It was a request that took both the chef and Emma by shock. "A-All? No one has ever ordered that many at my store..." The chef spoke dreadfully before a sudden shine of determination flames passionately in his eyes. "I've been preparing for this day to come. Understood! Please give me a moment!"

As the chef began preparing his kitchen for the incredible order, Emma sputtered out, "Th-that's so many! Are you ordering for the both of us? I don't think I can eat all of that..."

"Most of them aren't for you anyway," Garou bluntly told her, getting a packet of sauce and handing it to her. "You said you wanted to try new things. You're going have to learn each of these names if you want to know them beside just being dumplings."

Wearing her still baffled look, Emma eyed back at the gyoza held at the chopsticks given to her. After a brief moment of simply looking at the gyoza, she brought it closer to her, smelling the delicious scent of beef. "You know, recently, I've started wondering a lot what the world lived by other people is like, what kind of cities they have, all of the new things to see and try."

"Mm." Garou hummed, and pour the sauce from the packet into her bowl. "Guess now's your chance."

After doing so, he then picks his second small bowl and starts piling gyoza in it, adding sauce to that as well. Seeing his beginning to consume the gyoza, the comforting delight he shows at the beginning bite dipped in sauce, Emma gradually follows his pattern. Dipping the gyoza in the sauce as well, and eats it using the chopsticks.

Another exemplary taste of what the Human World has in store.

After much determined work, the chef finished making each few sets of all the dumpling variety in his station, not all at once, but it was perfect in its own way as it granted Emma an experience she can take one at a time. Garou satiating his appetite at his picking of the food, eating at a slower pace at each given dish at a time, thus giving him moments of opportunity to watch and hear Emma's expressed comments to the delicious taste of each different types of dumplings, much to the chef's own humbling delight, enjoying each new dumpling and having it all go down with a drink of her cola. It was appealing on its own how he managed to unearth a Cola-drinker, that she hasn't known the best and classic sweet drink until now.

For about a while, they enjoyed eating at this humble food stand in main silence, until Emma could not eat anymore, feeling full after three dumplings. Garou, in the meantime, ate the rest and upcoming dish being served. It was quite a list of them, and Emma was surprised that even for someone years older than herself, he was able to finish each serving. Judging by his well-built body though, Emma can imagine and reason that, as someone who must work out a lot, he'll be in need of many calories he can intake.

"...OH!" Emma was then surprised, blinking widely as Garou suddenly gives her his attention again, cheek filled with gyoza. "Your arm's all healed up! That's incredible!" The hospital must surely have the most amazing doctors or devices that helps heal what was his fractured limb in such a short amount of time!

"Oh. Yeah," Garou casually looked at his arm before regarding back to her, "I just needed food. Good enough nutrition helps heal the bones."

"R...Really?" She asked. "That's... really?"

That sounds almost impossible. At least, from what she understood, and know from experience. Broken bones can take months to heal, but this person was able to heal in just a couple of hours all by eating nothing but food? True the nutrition would be good for the body, but there's usually more to it than that and he seems to miraculously skip those extensive steps.

He nodded, eating another gyoza. "What? You find that hard to believe?"

"I mean... I always thought broken bones need time to heal. Sure I've seen you heal fast before, but I didn't know people could heal their bones that quickly too..."

_They don't_, she could hear Ray say in her head. Worse yet that it's the bone itself shattered, rather then dislocated which would have been the best case since it'll only need to be popped back into place and heal with time. Shattered bones could take not only time to heal but surgery as well.

He shrugs, "It worked for me."

Huh... well okay. She can't deny what's obviously in front of her. She picks up her bottle of Cola again. "I would have liked that when my leg was broken."

Garou hummed, resuming his eating and finishing his next row of food. After having their meal, her watchful gaze captured by the astounding amount of different sorts of dumplings Garou finished with such ease. The chef graciously heeded them for the challenge of Garou's order, quite proud of his own effort. After giving their respectful thanks for the meal, Emma delightfully finished her bottle of Cola as well Garou with his.

"Alright. Let's keep moving," Garou said. Emma, putting down her now empty bottle.

"Oh. Right," she said, thanking the chef once more and climbing down the chair, quickly catching up to Garou. "That was an amazing meal."

He hummed again, awaiting her to re-take the lead, which she did, and they resume their movement for the help station. Once finding it, the process was the same as it did for Emma the first time she with Gon and Killua came to a place like this at Officer Jenny's guidance, and like before, had a guard to help guide them. As it turns out, Garou's place of living was also somewhere on the outskirts of the city, within the forest area, though farther from where Emma, Gon and Killua's apartments were.

They took the trolley to their destination, the trolley empty of anyone beside themselves and along with a guide man to help them find the building where Garou will stay, and Emma has the pleasant experience to see the city glittering with white and rainbow lights pass before her eyes a second time.

"So that doughnut guy you were with. He a competitor?" Garou suddenly spoke, standing beside the seat and leaning against the open window, looking down at Emma beside him, her fingers holding the window frame with her chin resting upon it, viewing the city before looking up to him.

"Oh. Yeah, he is," Emma answered. "He's really skillful too, at least I think so. He might be a gunner, although I didn't really see him use a gun, he's really good at aiming. Like_ really_ good."

She looked at the people she watches by as they gradually moved closer to the city outskirts. "There's a lot of competitors that are so amazing. I saw videos of them having incredible powers. Footage from the Preliminary."

"Oh? You saw that too?" Garou asked, facing the window and resting his elbows upon the window frame as well, feeling the gentle breeze.

Emma nodded, "I couldn't have imagined just how strong people are in other worlds. I never ever knew humans could even _be_ that strong or move so fast. There was even someone riding in that giant robot!" She extended her arms up to emphasize her point of the massive size of purple armor being before bringing them back down and grasp the window frame.

"Mm," He said as he looked out the view, not sounding as impressed though it did took him by surprise at the start. "Yeah. Also saw your friends made the list."

"Yeah! That was really cool..." Her start of enthusiasm congratulations for her friends suddenly dwindled to deep thoughts that blanked her face. "I'm honestly a little overwhelmed. I mean, it's inspiring that humans can be that strong. I would have loved to be like that too. I'm still going to try my best, and work really hard. It's just... it's a lot to process. It's all so incredible, and if we are going to compete against each other, I'm can't stop wondering or thinking how I'm going to catch up with everybody else."

With her, she has her weapons and her wit, and once, she had fought against a devilishly clever demon whom she had barely managed to have yield his life in the end, in fact, she actually could have died much sooner if it wasn't for the nameless man and Ray arriving just in time. If it hadn't been for everyone she was with, she couldn't see herself getting so far.

But here, she is without anyone with her. She managed an alliance with Gon and Killua, but it's a wonder if they may be able to stay together throughout the whole competition. Which means she'll have to pull her own weight somehow. Learn from her previous defeats, miscalculation, and press onward.

But she only has one life, and with that, any mistake can prove to be fatal. And if losing here means for her to return to her potentially dying body, then she can't make any misjudgments or such. She has to be careful, to be even wittier when bullets and arrows alone will not be enough.

Garou shrugs, "Get stronger then."

She glances back at him as he returns his, "Not much is gonna happen by looking in awe and dreaming about it. You got to _make_ it happen if you want something done. If a guy is faster than you, then just be faster than him. If a guy's stronger than you, then be stronger than him."

"I...I figured, but-"

"See? You get it."

"R-right. I mean, I would have like that if I had _known_ it was possible, or know how to, but I don't know if..."

The side of logic bringing ease and reasoning to her desire of wanting to be as strong as defined. The rules of every world and the logic and limits that goes with them could very much vary, and Emma wasn't sure if she could be physically capable as Gon, Killua, and all the other competitor's she has witnessed while here.

She stops when he points at her assertively. "It's that kind of doubt that's going to lag you behind," he said firmly. "Stopping to think about it just waste time. Besides, you think anybody got strong easy?"

"No. I figure that they must have been through a lot to get there," Emma answered, looking over the grasped frame and tapping her foot against the metal wall, "I know that doubting would just hold me back. I would like to be that strong if I knew how. There just wasn't anything like that where I came from, nothing like flying people or anyone who could punch boulders. I'm pretty athletic as it is, but it'd be really awesome if I could do either of those."

She reminisces softly, eyes gentle in deep pondering, "I once played and pretend that I could do those sorts of things when I was little. My friend Ray would point out how silly it was, and I get where he was coming from. I never really thought I could actually do it. In my world, none of us thought it was actually possible. There were strong humans like Mama, this other man I met, and other people we read about in books, people in the Olympics or held a world-record and so. There were monsters in our world who were bigger and stronger, and there was one who was so extremely fast no one could have seen him move until he was already at another place."

Her thoughts travelled to her two places on her body she had been wounded from and refrained herself from touching. A keen attention from Garou as he listened silently, a dawned revelation that there were monsters in her world too, and a near baffling reveal of no human who have the same extreme strength as those in his world could do.

Emma looked up to the night sky, "but there wasn't any human who could do what those competitors did, or Gon and Killua, and you actually, not to that extent. It's why I found it all so amazing when there _are_ other people who are not only the strongest people I have ever seen, but can use real magic and melee weapons that shoots lasers and so many other things! ...Maybe that was what's wrong, that we never thought that we could do more. Maybe we could try and see if it _would_ be possible, or if there might be people who has that kind of power somewhere around the world that we just don't know. Or maybe our world just works differently from others, and that for what we are only capable of, we find ways to work around it."

Even if she can dream of jumping over that wall and cliff with an abyss that extends so far, the truth of her reality was that she could never reach over it no matter how much she practice and plays around the forest. That was undisputed, and there was simply not enough time to look for such an extravagant way. To play the cards that she was only capable of drawing, and to do so with the biggest resolve she could amount, even as it doesn't always end in success. But that was the reality that which she had to have the strength to keep going.

"Hm..." There was a lot of "maybes" than he personally liked, the kind of world that tells people what the expectancy of a person's power and limitation was, an acceptance to that standard apart from this child, who proves that there were some people who held wonders that question said limitaitons. Garou looked ahead in thought, watching as the buildings began to lessen as they were entering the suburban areas. He spotted a small store then, light glowing through the glass windows and doors that shows its open status. "Wait here, I'll be back."

"Huh?" As soon as Emma said that, Garou grasped the edge of the window and casually flips himself over and out. Emma was so abruptly taken by sheer surprise, as well as for the guard, she stared dubiously as the white-silver haired fighter casually strides across a path towards the store, hands in his pocket as if there was no sense of urgency for him. There wasn't much power for her to "wait" as the trolley continued to move, his figure steadily decreasing in size and their sight of him.

"Can... can we stop the car for him?" She asked the guide man.

He shook his head, "Not unless it's an emergency, or if he's deliberately stepped off."

She looks back to where Garou had left, her view soon blocked by crowds of trees they were just arriving to. She couldn't fathom his abrupt leave, though strangely enough she did not doubt his ability to catch up to them, as natural as it would be. With what she has seen his capability, she has a feeling that it wouldn't be an issue, though it's a wonder still.

A couple of seconds later and Emma spotted a dash of white carried by black speedily moving through the trees, then sudden vanished. A tinge to her stomach as she felt something approach, the roof of the trolley was bumped, and Emma was startled once more as Garou's head plopped upside down from the roof. The guide man just as so, though he decided to watch quietly and simply see what unfolds.

"I'm back," he waved, and easily climbed back into the moving trolley in single grace. A ball carried by a long net dangled in his clutched hand, he did not heed Emma's confused stare as he quietly went to the other side of the trolley, and hangs the net by the grip support beams above, the ball hanging low.

He then turns to her bewildered face and points the ball, "I want you to hit this."

"...Huh?" The request so out of nowhere, Emma didn't know what to read from this. "Uh. Why?"

"Cause I don't like how your world is," Garou declared with a pointed finger, "Clearly, you got to expand your horizons a bit more. Don't try to keep yourself locked down and wondering. Sure you're not much stronger than most people here, especially if you're without those weapons. If you want to make up for that though, you better have other assets you can use, and that means using your own body for that."

"Well... yeah, that does make sense. I mean, if I hit someone at their weak points I can have a better chance." Beside from knowing the weak points of the Demons of her world in order to permanently kill them. She also had taken the tactic of hitting the important part when the nameless man had her hostage and she had to hit him in the "jewels" to free herself.

"Good, you got a good grasp of that. That's a decent start, but knowing where to hit isn't the only thing you got to know. If the other guy has a tougher skin than your own fist, you got to work that fist enough to break through most things as hard as stone."

To hear that standard for a child, it's nothing less than absurd. However, although taken aback a little, Emma did not outright dismiss his words he spoke seriously, looking back to the hanging ball. There was a firm belief in his words that Emma didn't have it in herself to deny or object them, and it was wondering if he really held that belief for her as well. "How should I hit it though?"

He looked at the ball, lifting his hand for it. "Just..."

He first ushered her to stand back with waving fingers, which she did so as she watches him attentively. He raised his arms, a stand of martial prep and ready offense, legs spread slightly apart with his feet finding support against the floor to bear with the moving trolley. In a few seconds, his arms flowed in a dance-like river, and rushed his fists in consecutive attacks that slammed the soccer ball, an elegance followed by violent moves.

Emma watched in awe as his audience, along with the guard who stood by himself with equal amazement, until Garou finished his demonstration, concluding with an upward angled kick that triple-tapped the ball into slamming the ceiling three times, and briskly brought back down his leg back, the ball falling back down and bounced along the net, scuffed with the beating it endured and swayed heavily.

He looked back at her, pointing with his thumb to the ball, "Like that."

"Can I really...?" She asked, quite stricken as she barely managed to capture all of his movements.

He nodded, moving around her with her head turning in follow, and he stopped behind her. "If you're going use kicks, make sure you got a firm footing. Don't try to stop the ball either, hit it while it's moving."

He waited for her then, blinking those small gold irises. Emma regarded him a little longer before eyeing back at the hanging ball. While he made a good case, she wasn't sure if he understood her of only finding the questionable absurdity of following one's super power skills and not because she disbelieved having that potential, and she was even less sure if there was any merit to this while there are people here who could fly and control giant robots.

But, since he already made the effort of getting this ball and setting this up, it would be a shame not to do it. Now hopefully, he wasn't actually asking her to do exactly as he had done it, while she just barely got the swift direction and motion of his limbs, she didn't have the current body that was physically capable of those moves. Though there was one move she was able to catch, that last kick he did.

It seemed simple enough. She wasn't sure at all if he meant "do what he does" but she can probably manage that part. The ball was a little high for her though, maybe if she jumped...

"You don't need to think about it," Garou started at her continuing hesitance, "just-"

Her mind memorizing the flow of his movement and perfecting the timing as soon as she leaped off from her feet, when the ball reaches to the preferred position in the midst of its swaying, Emma threw an angled kick in a flowing rush of a river just as he done it, and struck the ball a single time. The ball swung back by the force of her kick, not on the same power as Garou, though she indeed put in all her effort, and it hit the window frame behind.

Garou was cut to silence, mouth hanging open before he could finish his words. He watched in remaining stunned expression as Emma fell back down, wobbling on her feet but managed to find a firm footing in time, her hands even put out like how his were, and looked back at Garou with a faint huff of her breath.

"Like that?" She asked.

He blinked, three times. "Uh..." His widened gaze back to her, "Yeah... pretty much."

_The hell? Did she just..._

She followed his last kick perfectly, the jump was an added improvisation, yet even with that and dialing back the power, she basically did his kick. His_ old master's_ kick (when Bang was being casual of course). Didn't she mention not knowing martial arts? How the hell did she did_ this_ then when it would usually take most newbies _months_ to perfect? The only time when someone basically got that kind of kick perfectly on the first try... was Garou himself (as far as he knows).

His curiosity invested now, he stands back up and approaches the ball, grabbing it to a sudden stop. "Hey, try doing this too."

"Oh. Sure," Emma said simply, having thought that this would be one time. It had been originally, but Garou had a changed his mind.

For the rest of this short trip, Garou continued demonstrating, this time, single attacks that showed just a hint of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, mixed with other movements he's picked up. After every shown attack, Emma followed each almost perfectly (she had to hop for every attack but still, she was able to hit them nearly the same as Garou). Garou was in wonder as to how she was doing it, and focused intently on her. A curve of the trolley rails that faintly tilted their transport and he naturally adjusted his footing, peeking from the corner of his eye though, he spotted Emma following his feet movement, matching his positioning.

_She learns by watching..._

There was only one sort of people who could grasp something at just a glance, the sort of people like Garou himself. Huh, who would have thought? Another genius like him. After a moment, they actually reached their destination, and it was only until when their guide man called them out of their take-turns of beating the soccer ball that they realized this. Emma having built up a sweat following after Garou's simple attacks while he remained sweat-free, not even exhausted in the least.

"That was fun!" Emma said in a huff, wiping the sweat away with her arm and then saying, "We probaby shouldn't have done that inside the trolley though."

Garou only hummed in agreement, taking down the soccer ball with its net. He held it in his hand for a moment before giving it to Emma, "Here. Keep it. You could do some more practice with this."

"Really?" Emma accepted the ball and net as it was handed to her, a gradual smile bloomed her face as she told him, "Thank you!"

They stepped off the trolley and followed after the guide man leading the way. "You're actually a pretty fast learner, aren't you?" Garou asked her as they walked across the sidewalk.

"Yeah. I'm one of the top three smartest kids in our family. I'm third while Ray's our second, and the smartest one... was Norman." She kept the grief and sadness in her voice away, "I learned a lot faster than the other orphans. It's how I was able to know how to hunt or how to use a gun."

"Seriously?" He said. At her nod, the guide man then suddenly spoke to them, having arrived to an apartment complex. This one was much different from her and where Gon and Killua were staying at, with gray and olive-green walls and a black roof overhead. "Oh. I guess we found your new home."

Garou sniffed, looking at the place idly. They followed after the guide man to the lobby, where they met one of the staff behind the desk and he happily introduces Garou to the building.

"I guess I should go back to my apartment now," Emma said, adjusting her backpack.

"You going to be alright heading back by yourself?" Garou asked her, leaning aside in looking at her.

She nodded. "I'll be fine. The guide man will lead me back."

He looked at her for another moment until another staff worker came, offering to help him find his apartment room. With that, he started his follow. Emma giving him a wave of her hand. "Good night."

To her own pleasant and light of happiness in her heart, he waved back at her, wiggling his fingers and then resumed his follow after the staff. Emma watches him leave until he turned the corner. Letting out a small breath, she looks back to the awaiting guide man. "Okay, I'm ready."

They then took another trolley and towards where her apartment complex is. It was enough of a night for her to see the city, her need for sleeping etching at her, though she held it comfortably inside her head. As she rode the trolley, she thought back everything that happened tonight. Meeting that nice blonde man whose name she does not know, trying out doughnuts and Cola for the very first time, better honing her precision of aiming just as that tall blonde man in red has, and just now learned some things she was surprised and appreciated Garou showed her, once again at awe of his capability.

_There really are a lot of incredible people here..._

She thought back to all the people she witnessed. The power they have, the tools they have at hand. Her endless thoughts of how she may catch up to all of them, heeding the advice of the doughnut man and the wolfish dark fighter. Her thoughts always straying to those amazing people, never relenting, her brows furrowing the deeper her thought goes.

If it was possible to be that strong. If she had the chance...

_You should not subject yourself to only your understanding of your world._

She remembered the words of the Demon God of her world. Perhaps she should do better than to simply accept things as unrealistic. That simply wasn't the case any more, she should know, and more than ever now that she is here. It felt like a dream to Emma. A dream full of fear and excitement, the hope that awaits near the end, and the threat of its abrupt cut before her reach.

Her brows furrowed even further, settling to a single idea, she looks back to the guide man. "Can we stop at a different place, please?"

/.\

Her balled fist knocked on the white door at middle of a soft, gilded lit hallway that has several other doors, plated numbers beside them as she stood in front of one in particular. The door opens then, Emma's round green eyes met the figure of Gon, his wear of a white tank top shirt and green pajama shorts that reached his knees.

His amber eyes wide at her presence, unexpected of her to accept his invite and come here this soon at this late hour. "Emma?"

She sees Killua coming up behind Gon, dressed similarly as Gon but a black tank top and dark blue shorts, holding the same questioning and surprised gaze as Gon has when he spotted Emma.

"I'm sorry I woke you guys up. I know it's really late, but... well..." She began, looking at her hands that were intertwined together. Not exactly nervous, only wondering the best way of how she can go about this. With what she has holding at her heart.

"No. It's fine," Gon kindly assured her, his glimmering confusion and curious regard remaining as he picked up the sight of her behavior, wondering if something wrong had happened, "It is pretty late though. Is everything alright?"

Encouraged by his gentle amber eyes, Emma inhales a small bit of air and held it in. The boys patiently awating for her, until with a release of her breath, she said it.

"I want to learn Nen."

* * *

_**Competitors Introduced:**_

**Guts and Puck _(Berserk)_**

_A/N: And there! I had so much more planned for this chapter, with other characters from different series being introduced but I had to cut it short since in the original script that I had in mind, Emma would have just noticed Vash and then resume her way while he leaves eating his doughnuts happily. But it suddenly drifted to her being noticed by him and, well, why wouldn't he? And in addition to that, why wouldn't she stop to see him eating a bunch of doughnuts in single bites? Also, Emma needed to restock on ammunition, so realistically she would have to go to that shop anyway, and so who else better to join her if only to look out for her?_

_Emma is strong but in the perspective of other characters, they'll see her as a sweet little girl to protect, and for certain characters, they're the sort of people who are very protective of people and friends anyway. I just find it a nice and comforting thought that, for all the harrowing things she had to overcome and being determined enough to do so, she and her family are children that I just want someone to save and protect *cries*_

_It'd be nice of someone to look out for her, but she isn't helpless either, though I do suspect some people in the story will underestimate her. I'm just hoping it won't get annoying._

_There's a lot of "must rewrite" that I've been getting into for all the previous chapters. May continue to do so in order to demonstrate the character's personality much better as well as other things like deciding what NPC should spell out as (Contestant, Competitor, Combatant?) I'm really picky that way, at least in a way that I feel it best. One example of a rewrite I did, I changed the dialogue between Vash and Emma but not by so much. I'll probably end up updating the previous chapters as well, but for now, I hope this has been a fun story to read thus far.  
_

_I'll be MIA as college days have returned and there is much studying and assignments I must complete. So I wish to post this chapter before going off grid to focus on my school, and when I return I may hope that I shall resume my other stories, quite a few of them I've been stalling on working on due to lack of inspiration. Writing New Stories always invigorates me, hence why I'm so very focused on **A Promise Between Worlds** right now, but it'll likely won't be long until my passion and interest will dwindle as well, although I do have plans for how this story will unfold._

_I hope for everyone to have a safe day, thank you for reading. Please leave a kind and honest review!_


	18. Open Possibilities

Intermission Arc

Chapter 18: Open Possibilities

Gon and Killua had already woke from their slumber as soon as they could tell a presence was approaching their door. Even in moments of rest, they are Hunters who knew to always be alert. Yet when Gon checked through the peep hole, seeing the familiar knocker that took him by surprise and answered the door, they did not expect Emma to be there. Nor the request she came to them with.

After regarding her in momentary pause and a curious look at the ball of net she held dangling in her right hand, they allowed her inside their apartment, taking her to the living room. They sat on the brown wooden floor, a black wooden coffee table separating them. Emma sat in front of a couch while the young Hunters settled in front of the wide-screen TV set - the first that Emma has ever seen up close and in person.

Her eyes wandered in quick observance of the apartment. The place felt much warmer here than it did at hers. It was nearly the same, slightly bigger and with more character and additional furniture. A bunk bed against the wall with a dresser beside it, next to the glass slide in doors that led to the back porch and view of the city. Two dark green couches here in the living room, a dining table behind the couch Emma was at, and a gray-blue themed walk in kitchen.

She returns her attention to the boys when Killua spoke up, "So you want us to teach you Nen." He stated rather than questioned, blue eyes attentive to the girl.

Emma nodded, "Yes."

"What brought that up?" Gon asked.

"Did seeing those footages from the Preliminary made you worry?" A follow-up question from Killua. Emma looks down to the coffee table, taking in her thoughts as she considered what to say despite having the time to figure it out during her ride and walk all the way here. Still, she couldn't just spill out everything without taking Gon and Killua's own feelings to consideration.

They have their own priorities for the wish, they very well could choose not to teach her in order to focus on themselves. Agreeing to help each other is one thing, but taking the time at their own expense to help her overcome what would no doubt have the effects to greatly impede her in the future, it would be reasonable to think that they can't just take out a chunk of their time helping her in that area when they need to focus on warming up before the next round begins. Yet even knowing that, she must try anyway.

She resolved with telling them following along her train of thought, the dawning escalation that led her to seeking the assistance from her newly made companions of this competition. "It definitely was a lot to take in. I wouldn't say that I'm worried, but more so that there's a lot I have to catch up to.

It made me realize that this competition will be a lot more than what I originally figured it be. Before entering the Preliminary, I was warned that there would be powerful people, but I couldn't really comprehend it until I saw it for myself. Some really strong, fast, big, and everything else that they can do. Like shooting from their fingers, which is really cool."

Gon nodded, agreeing with her beginning point and the finger gun mentioning. He even asked Killua if he could perhaps do something similar as that other green-shaded hair teen did, which Killua said that it seemed possible yet would no doubt be difficult. Gon had to agree with that analysis, and his intrigue of the ability held the image of that aura shooter in his mind.

"I've also been thinking," Emma said, resuming, "that if people that strong are allowed to enter, then there's a chance that there's going to be obstacles that'll either require those abilities to pass it, or do what it can to impede them so to make it more challenging. That might also mean that the Preliminary isn't just a way for us to enter the competition officially, or get an idea of what to expect, but also for the staff who put up that event to gauge our skills and what we're capable of."

She looks back up to them, "And knowing that there's a huge power gap between all of us, if they want this competition to be fair, they would do what they can to make sure we all have a chance at winning, regardless if we're strong or not. That's what those Support Cards were for, to make up the difference."

"Ah... that's a really good point," said Gon, having not realized it to that depth. Killua found Emma's input to be a dawning reveal. It made sense really. The cards weren't just an addition to make the competition more interesting, but also for those who aren't as strong as the other guy.

If one person could move at the speed of light, and the other person was a Shogun Champion who has never ran a day in his life, and both were put on a race track as part of this competition that seems likely to give any random event, naturally the winner would go to the one who is the fastest runner.

The power gap would not only be extreme, but the unfairness is stemmed that the event would favor the fastest, not the smartest and strongest. The same goes for the fastest runner, who might be a terrible Shogun player, is put in a Shogun match against the champion.

Competitors wouldn't be given the choice to pick any event to their liking either, because they might just pick the event that they would easily succeed at, but if they aren't going to be given a choice, how are they expected to win in a round that favors only one type of participants that promises the win of a certain skill or talent, and no one else's?

Even if the individual competitor was in a supposed favorable event, it would mean nothing if there are opponents that could overwhelm them with things like reading minds, immunity against any wounds, have an ability that which only those with the same ability can see it, and etc.

The balance system would be like a match between a master martial artist and a transparent ghost who couldn't be touch. Or to put it basic terms, a person without any powers against someone who has every power. How can any round be fair for just about anyone that it is basically just anybody's game?

"If I could find and rely more on these Support Cards, I can catch up better with those who have special powers," Emma stated, "If not, I would still try to figure out a way how to stay ahead."

Her eyes turned sullen, "But for Support Cards to exist at all, I get the feeling that just depending on what I can do by myself won't be enough. Not just because of the competitors, but whatever situation this competition might bring."

She raised her index finger in a following point, "There'll also probably be missions that won't be so easy to do even if the person is strong. This is supposed to be a competition where people can use whatever skill or ability they have to win, not about who's the strongest or the smartest. Even if I can accurately predict what might happen, plan ahead, and use whatever I have on me at my own disposal, it's not always going to be guaranteed."

Many times at her suffering for her to come to this understanding, of losses that ended with severe consequences, and lives being taken. She can't afford to make such a loss here, not especially if her new friends may need her for when it matters, and if she ended up not doing or having enough of what would have been vital in that moment, then neither of them will be able to win the wish.

The children from her world that she couldn't help or save no matter what she tried, and how much. Norman, the children she thought to have saved in Goldy Pond only to die by Lewis's hand. If the possibility is presentable that she could actually make a difference, then she wants to take it.

When no safe place exist for her family to flee to in her world, leading only the obvious solution that they must change the world itself for them to live in, and if there was a quicker way to get there, then she'll need something more to support her.

"And that's why you want the opportunity to make up that difference yourself," Killua assessed. Another nod from Emma.

"I'd also want to help you guys as much as I can," she continued softly, "You guys are really strong. I want to be able to do something so that I won't slow you guys down."

"You wouldn't slow us down," Gon reassured kindly and with confidence. Killua however, saw Emma's point and the potential merit of it.

"Mm. But it would help if you could run as fast as we do," crossing his ankles, he grasped them before adding, "I get where you're coming from, but I'm going to be blunt with you. While Gon and I know how to use Nen, we're still in training, and you would probably want to learn Nen as fast as possible, wouldn't you? Especially before the next round begins, am I right?"

"Well, yes, that would be good, but I wouldn't want to push you guys," Emma alleviated, quickly waving her hands, "I can expect that it wouldn't be immediate. Just knowing enough would probably help a lot, but if it'll take too much time from you guys..."

"Well here's the thing," Killua interjects, claiming with a lazily given finger, "the way _we_ learned Nen was actually a huge jump over how other people learned Nen. We basically took the short cut. But the way to get there means using a dangerous method, one that could have killed us if we didn't act right away. If you want to learn Nen the safe way though, from what our teacher Wing told us, it'll probably take you about six months."

The time stamp shocked Emma, "That really is long... Wait, if you guys took a short cut, then how long did it take you guys to learn Nen?"

"We've been training our Nen for about two years now." At her second jump, Killua scratches his head, closing his eyes and sighing, "Guess I should have elaborated. Learning to use Nen in a way that you can have your own Hatsu, and all the steps around and before that, it took us a lot of time. And by learning how to use Nen, you first have to unlock it._ That's_ the process that's going to take you six months to do."

"Just to get started?!" Emma shouted in astound.

"It's the safest and normal way. If it turns out that you're right with your theory, which I can actually see it to be true, then the chances of you surviving to the finals are about fifty percent, which basically means you have just as much of a chance of losing as you do winning.

The same as us if we don't use Nen, but if we do, then our chances are up by about sixty percent or so," his words were like sharp razors, and there was no use of deflecting them even if Emma wanted to.

"I see..." Emma said, keeping a calm holding of herself, "But if the starting process takes about six months, and you guys took a short cut, how long did it took you guys to unlock your Nen?"

"For us, it took just one day."

The little girl physically stumbled in place and nearly hit the coffee table with her head. "A day?!" How does a six-month process of unlocking Nen be shortened to only a single day?!

"Yeah, a few minutes actually, but how we got it unlocked is dangerous. Our Nen teacher at the time told us as much," Killua then explains as Gon heeds his friend leading the conversation.

"Unlocking Nen at that time span would take forcing your aura to unlock, and to do that, the way Wing-san had done it was by pushing our aura out with his. What came after that was a fierce excess of our aura that looked like spazzed out flames, and if we didn't learn how to control it fast, we would have passed out and die because our aura was spilling out so much."

The little girl looked horrified at the idea of her friends undergoing such a terribly risky method. Killua then includes, "After that, there's several more steps in learning how to use your Nen, to keep it under control while you're sleeping, wearing it over your body as your armor but not for too long or else that'll drain your energy, and a few other drawbacks you'll have to work hard to overcome.

All that, is what the six months of process is for, and that's not even getting into the risks of using the method to unlock your Nen instantly. Wing-san told us that for anyone who isn't an expert Nen user to use that method of unlocking someone's aura, if even the slightest mistake is made, they could end up killing the person."

She fought the urge to swallow down the unease, her tongue tasting dry as she heard this potentially fatal risk of an instant unveiling of Nen, though she remained keeping a calm demeanor, she didn't attempt to hide the disturbance her face shows as she hears this.

Yet, strangely enough, it wasn't the fact that she could die that was disturbing her, but the discontent of hearing the unlikeliness of her learning Nen in the most efficient and convenient matter. She could handle difficulty, but for it to take months to start and reach a point Gon and Killua has, while this competition could last about a year, then it simply wouldn't be practical. At that point, she'll have to drop it entirely.

"But I'm sure we can find a way to help you."

Gon's sudden and happy declare took Killua for a loop as the ex-assassin abruptly looked to his best friend with wide deep aqua eyes. "In fact, we can still take the fastest way to unlock your Nen if you really want to."

Killua gawked while Emma blinked, surprised. "Really?" She asked.

The Hunter nodded, "Sure! We might need to practice a lot but-"

A sudden grab by pale fingers that tugged harshly the ear of Gon and causing a drop of his sincere expression to an aghast pain, a shout from the young green shade hair Hunter, "Ow Ow Ow!"

"Wait there," Killua said to Emma, facing away and moving towards the bathroom, "I'm going to talk to Gon alone for a bit."

He pulled Gon to stand by holding his friend's ear, ignoring the loud ouches and grasping his wrist from his friend until both enter the bathroom, and closing the door behind them. Emma watched them with dumbfounded eyes, as she then sits and awaits, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

"They really do kind of remind me of Ray and I," Emma said in idle reminisce. She imagines how Ray would be if he were here, then thought of how he and Killua would instantly dislike each other. They were alike in a few ways that might be too much for either of them to accept warmly. He would also likely call out the absurdity of all this, so it have been sparing for him, though she knew he would not approve of her having come here alone.

Thankfully, she wasn't now. If her new companions can be willing to help her anyhow, and she will do her part to help them as well.

/.\

"-Well why shouldn't we help her? She's helped us in the preliminary, and she even said she'll help us win this competition."

"Gon, neither of us knows how to unlock someone's Nen the way Wing did for us. It'll end up killing her if we aren't careful."

"Then we practice," Gon simply concluded. "If Wing-san could do it, then we could learn how to do it also."

"Except it's probably not going to be that simple," Killua leaned his back against the sink, hands in his pockets of his black pajama shorts. "Who knows how long it'll take for either of us to get it right. Besides, we don't even know if she's capable of knowing Nen at all. She's from a different world from ours after all."

"But Wing-san told us that all living things have aura, and Nen is aura," Gon pointed out, "It wouldn't hurt to try."

Killua glanced aside, "Wing-san warned us about unlocking someone's Nen was so that we wouldn't end up doing the same for anyone else recklessly. You and I aren't masters at Nen yet. We still have a lot more training to do before we should be willing to teach anyone how to be as strong as us."

"But we _are_ professional Hunters," Gon gently argues, a solemn look in his amber eyes. "I know we're still inexperience in a lot of ways, but maybe this is a way for us to get stronger too. Also, she wants to save her family, just as I want to save Kite."

The ex-assassin glances away, saying nothing as Gon resumes, "I don't think she wouldn't understand the risks. She's a lot like us, and we only managed to get this far because of all the people we met who helped us along the way."

Dark blue eyes stares at the wall in a moment of silence before he removed himself from the sink, "...Alright. If you really want to do this, to help her, then we got to put together everything we've learned up until now. For one thing, we have to make sure we can unlock her Nen without killing her."

Grabbing his own pale chin in thought, Killua thoughtfully assessed, "There's only two days until the next round starts. We'll have to split the work if we want her to know enough about Nen. Not only for us to practice how to unlock her Nen fast, she also has to learn all the factors that goes with it once she does actually get it.

There won't be enough time for us to teach her how to use it, so for the rest of this Intermission, she'll have to know and understand what Nen is all about, and in the meantime, one of us will have to hone our ability of awakening her Nen before the next event starts."

"Hm..." Gon gives it some thought, "...I think you should be the one to practice. You have a really good precision with your aura, and you'd probably learn it faster than I would."

Killua steadily nodded, "You think you can fill her in with everything?"

Gon affirmed with a sound, "I can pretty much tell her what Wing and Biscuit told us. All the important stuff and then get to the details later."

"It's a good start. At least a way for her to grasp what Nen is about." With their plan agreed, Killua starts for the door. "Then let's get some rest and start in the morning. I can look into those training grounds we've heard about and practice there, while you and Emma can go over the basics here."

Gon nodded before another thought came to him and he asked, "Do you think it'll be better if she sleeps here for the rest of the Intermission?"

Killua's deep aquatic eyes looks to consideration, "Hm. Sure. That might turn out better for us, it saves us time. We still got to train before next round so you guys should go out too. We'll meet back here by the end of the day and check in our progress. I'm going to make sure though that she's really willing to go through with this. Even if we do promise to do all that we can, let's not sugar coat anything."

Gon had to agree, understanding thoroughly. Concluding with that, they exit the bathroom and walked back out to the living room. Emma looked up at their stepping out and returned to their seating. Killua is the first to start, "Okay, so first things first. I want to hear from you that you're ready and willing to take this risk. We can't promise anything except that we're going to try all that we can to unlock your Nen just in time before the next round starts."

She unveiled her surprise at that. "That's what you want, right?" Killua asked her. "To learn it as quick as possible?"

"Ah. Yes. That would be good. I just didn't think it would be that soon. I would have thought it be during next round, if there was any time," Emma answered honestly.

"If you want to be ready for whatever this competition might bring, then it's better you know Nen as soon as possible," Killua explains. "Believe me, we've been in that position of wanting something and needing to beat the deadline right away. It's how we got our Nen in the first place. You won't have your Hatsu right away, that's something you'll have to find on your own. Gon will explain it to you but if this goes as we want it to go, you won't have to worry about that right now."

He stated seriously, "But you need to really think about this and decide now. Neither of us has ever unlocked someone else's Nen before, and it could end badly for you. Worst comes to serve, if any of us aren't prepared for it, there's a definite chance that you'll end up dying from the process. You'll at least go back to your world if that's what'll happen, but then you'll lose your chance at the wish."

Emma's stare held onto Killua with a controlled expression as he added with narrowing eyes, " I'm not trying to scare you or anything, I just want to make sure that you understand the things that could go wrong with this."

"But we'll do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen," Gon spoke up, his amber eyes held to this promise with conviction. "We'll be careful, and do what we can to help each other stay in this competition."

The orange hair little girl esteemed no dangling fear or doubt in her face, her bright green eyes unwavering as she takes in everything being told, side-effects of a Nen-unlocking gone wrong and etc. Killua observed her calmly worn face as he picked up his knee, settling his arm over it. "Do you still want to try it?"

"I do." No hesitation voiced in her choice, adding with upholding faith to her comrades, "I trust you guys. We haven't known each other long, but I can tell that you guys would do your best. Even if it might be dangerous for me, I'd still want to go for it if it's so that I can help you and my family waiting back home."

Gon smiled widely before looking to Killua. The other boy shared the look, and a nod from his head. "Okay. Starting tomorrow, Gon will tell you what there is to know about Nen, and I'll be out training to open the nodes you have and unlock your aura."

"Nodes?"

"They're what's keeping you from having any free control of your aura," Killua elaborates, raising his index finger in emphasis, "Think of it like a faucet with a stuck handle and no water coming out, but there's a leakage happening from the pipes, that's basically how aura is for everyone. Nen-users and professional Hunters are able to stop the leakage, and also control how much water - their aura, flows. If we can get everything done the day before the next round is announced, force that handle to turn and allow your aura to burst free, then you'll be able to control how it flows just as we do."

"I see..." Emma said in wondrous tone, "I think I can kind of understand. That's pretty cool actually."

Gon nodded eagerly, "You can also stay here at our place, Emma. It'll be a lot simpler if we can get you started learning more about Nen right away. It's pretty dark out there also, and you shouldn't have to make a long trip back to your apartment. Is that alright with you?"

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense," she nodded, understanding, "That would be better actually."

It also comforted her still prattling heart that gripped onto the unease at the thought of returning to her cold and empty apartment, she felt much more at peace with this arrangement.

"Let's get some sleep. We'll start in the morning," Gon said with a continuing and comforting grin, "We'll do our best to help you, Emma."

Internally elated, Emma returns the smile with her own. "Gon, Killua. Thank you so much," she gently responded, the gratitude visual in her softened expression. Gon nodded happily as Killua shrugs nonchalantly, rubbing the back of his neck.

They lent her their spare pajamas tucked into their dresser, a simple white tank top and green shorts. The couch proved to be comfortable enough for Emma to sleep on, offering extra cushions with a rolled out mattress they pulled out from the closet and a dark blue blanket for her to keep warm with. They bid their goodnights to each other as they prepared for bed, turning off the lights, and only the outside night illuminating the room with faint blue hue.

Emma takes yet another glance at the glass back doors to the bright view of the city alive with rainbow lights as each its own individual stars. Her arms over the couch arm rest that she rested her chin upon, laying on her front against the mattress as she hears the idle quiet bickering between the boys at their bunk beds to her right.

"No way! You lost fair and square," Gon declare in a hush voice at the top bunk of the bed, his head looking over the edge and for Killua lying below him.

"Come on. One more. Best two out of three," Killua negotiated, pointing up at the boy above, "You win, and you keep the top bed for another night."

"Hmm... Okay."

She watches them bump their fist, "Rock, Paper, Scissor - Shoot!" Gon's hand was balled to a fist while Killua's hand showed two of his fingers, and a grin of triumph came from Gon, Killua looking less than amuse by the outcome of their decisive gestures. A game it seemed to be, Emma thought it interesting.

"You _would_ win," Killua muttered, turning over to his side as he remained in his place. A hint of a cheeky chuckle from Gon as the dark haired boy retreats to his bed, turning over to his side as well.

Emma looks to her own hand, balling her hand the same way Gon had then matching Killua's two-finger show before putting her hand back down, resting her cheek against her arm as her smile remained a little longer by the sight of the young Hunters.

It then faded into a deep-pondering sullen, resolute taking over her slow slumber-needing eyes, to which closes after another moment of staring at the view in front of her, letting her mind relax and hearing the faint ticking of a clock hung upon the wall, and the soft snoring of her companions who allowed her their generosity, and hopes to repay back in full.

/.\

The next day came, the beginning day of the Intermission, and first morning witnessed by the new occupants of the Wired - survivors of the Preliminary.

From another place, at another apartment, a competitor of wolfish like hair, white as snow and tinted with silver, sat up from his futon upon the floor beside the glass doors that lead to the back porch and view of the forest and distant city. A low howling yawn as his fingers scratches to the top of his head, a slight grin creaking from the lower half of his face. "Damn that was a good sleep. Been a while since I had a bed."

He rises from the futon. His apartment a simple place of even simpler design, with light wooden floor of thin rectangular, it was essentially a floor a dojo would have. White concrete walls that were smooth, and hardly any much electronics apart from a round clock on the wall and lamps on desks.

The furniture modern and nothing extravagant, just a small square table with a single chair near the wall. A kitchen only a couple of feet away from him. There is enough space for him to do warm ups, which he did so, sandy white baggy pants and a shirtless form that shows the definition of his hard years of training, a lean muscle physique fitting for a fighter that he is.

The discoloration on his stomach was gone, proving that whatever happened last night was related to that punch he took from that boy. He hovered his hand over the area in an idle glance before looking to his fingers, flexing them before closing them to a clench of his hand.

Enforcing his will by a slight, the white ghostly glow reappears, enveloping his arm. He'll have to find that boy - Gon, to explain whatever this is. While it certainly has a method to strengthen him, he'll have to use it sparingly as it takes a heap of his stamina. Willfully, he pulls the aura back in and started to stretch his limbs.

Working his body with a few warms ups, he does a single handed push up at the center of the room, wakening his senses even further and by the end of the one hundredth time of push ups, only a single drop of his sweat was dripped from his chin. One finishing, he lowers himself and landed foot first and stands back upright.

He craned his neck until the sound of a pop, finding and re-wearing his black tight shirt, then closed his eyes, giving out a little short sigh that sounded like a whistle, "Whew... Alright."

His gilded irises peers through the glass doors, the city in his instant view as he said purposeful, "Time to go commit evil."

With the end of the Preliminary round, the hunt resumes for the hunter of heroes. He exits his apartment, sliding open the glass doors aside, and stepping out onto the back porch where he then hop from the edge of the barrier fence, and dropped down five stories below.

He landed with perfect ease without a complaint to his legs that carried his recovered body, and continued on, taking the sidewalk and towards the city of the Wired.

/.\

In the apartment where Gon and Killua resides, Emma awoke just as the pair of Hunters she is roomed with, rubbing her eyes and pushing herself off from the couch. She cupped her cheeks and lightly slapped them to invigorate herself and rid the need for longer slumber than the five hours she achieved tonight, which has been the first proper enough rest she had in a while, and proceed to roll up the mattress while the boys made their bed.

"Hey Emma, do you want to go out for breakfast?" Gon offered to the girl as he made his top bunk bed, looking over to her by the couch from the top bunker. "We don't have any food here. I was also thinking about going shopping for some new clothes for us. I can tell you about Nen in the meantime."

Emma accepted with a pleasant voice, hugging the rolled up mattress in carry as she walks for the closet, "Sure. I saw some clothing stores in the city. We can go there, or maybe check around here and see if there's any nearby."

Killua hummed, sitting at the edge of his bed, "Not a bad idea. I'm going to see if I can find one of those training grounds we've heard about."

"Oh! I think there's this one place I heard, it's close to where we came from that section of the city," Emma said, opening the closet door and setting mattress down, against the wall. "It's through... Cicadas Cry Park," she remembers, "passed by Red Moon Library, and there's supposed to be a large building that looks like an arena. That's supposedly one of the training areas in the city."

"Where did you hear that?" Killua asked. Did officer Jenny gave her that knowledge?

Closing the door, Emma turned with a feeling of being caught red-handed. "Oh, I..." her hand rubs the back of her head frazzled with orange strands, "I actually went back out to the city last night, by myself. I met a nice man who told me a lot about the few places of the Wired."

"Why did you go back?" Gon asked, climbing down from the top bunker, Killua paying attention as well.

"I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep. I started wondering about what the human world would be like and if the Wired was anything like it, so I figured I could see some of it a little more, just to get an idea of what to expect if my family ever comes across cities."

"Was there a lot that you saw?" Another asking from Gon as he looked with direct interest.

"There was _so _much. I didn't even know where to start until I met that nice man. He had blonde hair that goes up like spikes," Emma exemplifies by bringing her fingers over her head and spreading somewhat them apart, pointing each finger up.

"He also had a red long coat," she added, "like that guy we met at the food court, but he was really friendly. He even helped me find a place to restock ammunition and a shooting range and showed me really cool tricks. After that, we explored a little bit around that block, all the stores we've seen from the outside. He told me a lot about the restaurants and other places I asked him about the Wired."

Her eyes lighted with recollection, "Oh! By the way, I met Garou again. He's doing much better now, and his arm fixed like it was never broken."

"Huh," was Killua's response, leaning against the bed pole frame, though a hint of low enthusiasm came at the mention of the wolfish fighter. "Well, it's a good start as any. You should be careful going by yourself in a city next time though, especially at night."

"Right," Emma understood, nodding. "I should have probably thought about that a little more." Though she couldn't feel relax at the apartment she had been assigned to. Nice as it was, she just couldn't find herself comfortable at that place at all.

"Alright, Cicadas Cry Park and Red Moon Library. I'll go ahead and check it out. These clothes should be good enough to wear while going out."

"Do you want to come with us? We can stop by and drop you off the training grounds later if you need to wear something else," Emma offered, but Killua gently shook his head.

"Nah. I'll be alright with what I have," he glances down to his black tank top and dark blue shorts before looking back at her and Gon, "We should make the most with what we can separately. Just make sure you two don't get too distracted. We only have two days until the Intermission is over. Let's make every second count."

Frankly, it was _he_ who was at risk here in practicing how to unlock Emma's Nen without killing her, while Gon only need to explain Nen to Emma so that she can be prepared how to deal with it once Killua does succeed in doing it. It shouldn't be too much of a problem for Gon to only tell what was important to know about Nen, he and Emma practically share a similar wavelength so they should be able to understand each other.

Emma eagerly nodded, "I don't know how it works but don't strain yourself, okay? I'm sure I can make it through the next round just fine even without knowing Nen. But, thank you for doing this."

With a slight smile, Killua reassures them both, "Yeah. We'll see how this goes."

Putting on their shoes and taking along their backpacks, they left their apartment, a trip to the elevator that takes them down to the first floor, and walked out under the brightness of this early day, the blue gridded sky and it's distorted white fluffy clouds greeting them.

"I'll see you guys later then." A wave of goodbye until their next meeting from Killua, Gon and Emma bid the same gesture.

"Good luck, Killua!" Gon wished him well. The ex-assassin nodded, sounding his assurance once more, and was watched as he starts for a path to the nearest train car stop. They continuously waved at his walk until he was further down the path, where he was a small figure in their sight, and they regard each other.

"Are you ready?" Gon asked with a grin.

Emma nodded firmly with anticipation. "I am. Let's do this!"

/.\

Emma and Gon walked down a path around the apartment complex, following down pavement stairs and viewing a few morning outers at their backyards. Blue birds chirping from the trees they pass by, shadowed under its given shade and rustling leaves. Emma regarded the calm scene with warmed longing to the sort of place she and her family would like to live among, once they escape the Demon World.

"So Killua and I told you the basic of Nen." She turned her head to Gon when he spoke, looking at her with a warm smile, "It'll probably be a lot to take in. Feel free to stop and ask me anything, okay?"

"Right... So from what you guys told me. Nen is based from a person's life force, which is basically like a person's soul? And they can make it into their armor and weapon."

Gon affirmed with a nodding head, "That's a simple way of explaining it. It might be a little hard to tell everything about Nen, so I'll just talk about the important parts.

They walked for a few miles as Gon began explaining Nen in more depth, during their walk, Emma learned that Nen has four major principles she will have to know how to perform foremost; **Ten**, **Zetsu**, **Ren**, and **Hatsu**.

Each principle, state of aura, convey different effects, **Ten** is to keep the aura from flowing out,** Zetsu** stops the flow of aura completely - suppressing one's presence ,** Ren** amplifies aura and the strength of the user, and **Hatsu **is the projection of concentrated aura to carry out a certain task.

A certain mental fortitude as well as emotional is essential to keep the flow of one's aura under control, or else the Nen-user, especially the inexperience ones, would face exhaustion, exertion, and in worst case, the lack of control of one's aura will lead to death.

"So using Ten keeps the aura flowing out," Emma comprehends with a thoughtful frown, "And as a result, you can live longer and your body would be in good physical condition. Does that mean you can live as a kid for a long time? Would you be able to stop growing up altogether?"

"Hmm..." Gon looks up to the sky in thought, "Maybe? I wouldn't mind being a little taller. There was one Nen-user we met who looked about our age, but she was actually an older person. I think that's different from aging slower though, or at least that's what she told us, but I don't think you can stop aging at all, only slow it down."

His amber eyes returns to her and he raises an index finger, "Once we unlock your aura, you'll be able to see any aura, even ours. As soon as it opens though, it'll be bursting, so the first step you got to do when is to calm it down, get it under control. It won't be hard, Killua and I managed to do it pretty easy and quick."

"So I'll be learning how to use Ten as my first lesson," Emma comprehended.

Gon nodded, "After Ten, we'll teach you Zetsu, then Ren, and then Hatsu. There'll be more steps you'll get to know about along the way, and use your Nen in a lot more ways once you get the hang of it."

"Zetsu hides your presence, and Ren makes you stronger..." Emma takes a mental note, grabbing her chin thoughtfully before looking back to Gon, "If Zetsu suppresses the aura, using Ren at the same time would be impossible, wouldn't it?"

"Mm... well yeah," Gon started, his face a little scrunched with thought. "If you try to use Zetsu and Ren at the same time, it probably wouldn't work. Zetsu stops your aura from flowing, and leave you exposed to anyone's attack without any kind of armor protecting you, while also being more sensitive to others aura. Keeping it hiding inside you, even people who can see aura wouldn't be able to notice you."

He paused briefly, memory resurfacing from the most acute people he's confronted with, including Garou, "Usually anyway. There might be someone who can still tell if someone else is hiding nearby, even if the person is hiding their aura really good. Ren on the other hand is a burst of energy, and you wouldn't be able to hide that. It's like thinking Zetsu as silent, and Ren the loudest. Also, being in Zetsu means you can't access your aura at all, so you wouldn't be able to use any Nen-based attacks. Except..."

He stated, affirming with a point of his finger, "When you use Ten, Ren, Zetsu, and Hatsu at the same time, but that's when you have to include another state - an advanced stage of Ren called **Gyo**. You can combine some Nen principles or strengthen them to make a really strong offense or defense Nen move."

"Really? How does that work? And if Ren is loudest and Zetsu is silent, then from what I understand, that would make Ten the calmest. If you can combine some, how doesn't it contradict? To use something that's calm, silent, and loud all at once?"

"Um, well-"

"And what does that make Hatsu then? I remember you guys explaining a little bit of it before, and how it manifests your ability. I would have assumed that _that's_ what combines all three of those other elements somehow, but if it's a principle of it's own how does it work differently?"

"Er, that's-"

"Wouldn't the other principles be considered an ability already? Also, if Gyo is an advanced stage of Ren, then isn't that already Ren you're using? Does that also mean there's other advanced stages for each principle?"

The line of questions carrying more words than what Gon was originally prepared for, filling his head with curiously spoken requests of better understanding that came in quickly before Gon could have a chance to comprehend and follow each question. Blinking at her with a wriggled expression as his brain tries to keep up with her bounty of questions that were already advancing beyond the basic steps.

And the more he attempts to think and consider each question, the more Gon realizes just how complex and complicated Nen really is. Maybe he really should have let Killua take his place instead...

"I-I think I accidentally skipped over a couple of steps," Gon said abruptly with a raised hand, stopping Emma's ceaseless questioning at his perturbed face that soon added a reassuring - if a bit crooked - smile, "We'll go by them one at a time, but to answer your first question; as far as I know, there isn't a way to combine Zetsu and Ren. But there's definitely something that can be made by combing a few other principles."

"Oh. Okay. Sorry. I got carried away, didn't I?" Emma apologized, rubbing down and up the strap of her backpack, "It's really exciting to learn new things I didn't know was possible before."

Gon shook his head. "No! It's actually good. I think that means you might be able to pick up on some things pretty quickly." Inwardly sighing in relief at careening her questions that were far too advanced for him to explain so soon. One step at a time, he tells himself. He shall take them one step at a time.

Or maybe there is more he should do than simply tell what Wing and Biscuit told him and Killua. It has become apparent enough just how fast at learning she is - her sudden expert use of a fishing rod and catching a bird on her first try one major example of this.

Maybe instead of teaching her the same way Gon and Killua had been taught about Nen, he ought to explain it in a way that catches up to Emma's pace, so that she can have a for sure grasp at Nen when the time comes to unlock her aura.

It might also be more difficult considering that she can't see Nen aura yet, otherwise Gon would have an easier time explaining by doing demonstrations. He'll just have to make due with what he can explain in words right now. It might not be in his level of expertise, but he will try anyhow.

After a mental recovery from the bombarding questions, Gon then picked out the next one she asked. "I guess in a way, Ten, Ren, and Zetsu are abilities also. Hatsu on the other hand is when a Nen user infuses his own will, and make a special move to do a certain thing."

Doing his best to explain, Hatsu helps forge a user's ability based upon the user's preferred combat, performing a certain task, and honing their Nen ability to achieve it in a manner the user intends. It boils down to what kind of fighting style the user wants to do, or if they might decide a non-offense based power, and the type of Nen they are most affiliated with.

"A type of Nen?" Emma asked.

"Uhuh!" He nodded, "Every Nen user has a Nen type - which means that they're under a category that they're the strongest with. Nen has six categories, and most of them can be used by anyone who has Nen. There's a lot I can tell you about; let's start with Enhancer..."

/.\

An educational walk through the calm neighborhood as Gon continued to tell his knowledge of Nen; all the factors and elements to its power, including the main categories that which defines Nen users and what sort of ability they can perform.

Enhancement, Transmutation, Emission, Conjuration, Manipulation, and Specialization; the six categories of Nen. Nen users are able to access most of them, but those who have a certain affinity for one are at their most pique under that specific category than the others.

Enhancement - the enhancing of the user's strength and defense.

Transmutation - the ability to change the quality of aura and mimic another property.

Emission - the act of detaching aura from oneself.

Conjuration - the making of physical constructs out of aura.

Manipulation - the act of controlling the actions of a target, inanimate or alive.

And Specialization - a technique that fits under neither previous category, a class of unique effects. It is also the only category that, if the Nen user is of any other type but a Specialist, it is impossible to tap into it (either you are a Specialist, or you cannot perform Specialization).

It was around this time that they managed to find a clothing store mended with the neighborhood and a new area where other stores were at. And while Emma took a moment to wondrously examine the entrance, set up of the store, and overall first experience of being inside a clothing store of the modern world supposedly have in the Human World. She continued listening to Gon as after he concluded explaining each category, went on to types.

"I'm an Enhancer, and Killua is a Transmuter. We're both at our strongest when we use a move based on what category we're under," Gon began telling as he eyes and pushes aside the clothes hanging upon each racket, looking for something about their size.

"Even though we were training our Nen around the same time," he picked out nicely white formal blouse and showed it to Emma, "if Killua uses any kind of Enhanced-based attack, it wouldn't be as strong as mine. Same if I use any kind of Transmutation attack compare to his, and he has a lot of Transmutation moves while I only have one."

She accepted the blouse and held it in front of herself, looking down and confirming its size (which is just about hers). "So under a certain type, there's a category that you excel at better than the other categories," Emma fathomed.

A commended nod from Gon for her quick understanding before resuming, casually walking through the isles and idly shopped alongside Emma. "Emitters can separate their aura far away from themselves without it being too dangerous. Aura is what makes you alive, so separating a good chunk of it from you can really hurt, and even kill unless you're careful and train enough. I'm able to do it but it took a lot of hard work, and I probably wouldn't even be able to shoot it as far as someone who's an Emitter type."

As they moved on to the pants isle, he moves onto the Conjuration category, "Conjurers can build whatever object they want from their aura. They can make it into a physical object that even people who aren't Nen users can see and even touch it."

"E-eh?! You mean you can make _real_ objects out of your own life energy?!" Emma nearly screamed, her grip tightening the fabric of the still held given blouse. Gon smiled with a little mirth at her yet another incredulous disbelief. He might feel a little guilty for it, but he found her exaggerated expressions funny and enjoyable to watch - it reminded him of Leorio.

"It really is awesome, isn't it?" He said, "We have a friend back in our world who's a Conjurer. He made chains out of his aura and wears it around his hand just about all the time."

"Wow..." Emma emote with widened eyes. "And Manipulators? Could they really control anything using their aura? That's a little discomforting."

"Mm. Maybe. It does sound kind of unnerving when you think about it. Still pretty amazing though. Oh, and then the last type is Specialists. They're a little harder to explain though. From what we heard, they basically use really special abilities that isn't found under the other categories. Other than that, I don't really know a lot about it. Our Nen instructors didn't tell us a lot about it either, since it's a category that can only be accessed by a Specialist."

He suddenly ceased speaking as he received a thought, what would happen if Emma turns out to be a Specialist? It's the only class they are not familiar with nor could practice - locked from their reach as an Enhancer and Transmuter. Even if they would help her focus on the rest of the categories, like how Biscuit taught them, they wouldn't know how to help her fully utilize that one category they themselves could not learn. He'll have to talk to Killua about this and see what they can do if that comes to happen.

Folding the yet to be bought blouse and held it against her person, Emma stared at the line of clothing beside them, the store's music playing faintly from the speakers above them. "I never would have thought you'd be able to do any of that, or that it was even possible. I mean, there's A LOT of things I've seen already that I didn't know existed before, from here and back at my world. I just can't help but be caught so off-guard by it."

"You'll get the hang of it," Gon encourages, leaving aside his previous thought for now. "Hm... There's a lot more I can tell you, but let's finish up shopping first and then head for the city for something to eat."

"Sure! I am getting kind of hungry." She spotted a nice looking black skirt and picks that out as well, "We should probably be careful how many outfits to buy, or else it'll be a hassle to carry it all around."

"That's alright. We can just wear the new outfits after we take them to the counter. We can always come back later anyway, now that we know where this place is."

Nodding in agreement, after they picked out new sets of clothes for themselves. They purchase them at the counter - although it wasn't exactly a "purchase" as the cashier had informed them, any items are freely available for competitors to take - free of charge.

"Wow! So as competitors, we can take anything we want?" Gon asked the cashier. The cashier nodded.

"That's right, but we wouldn't recommend just walking out of the store without going to the counter first. We like to keep a record of what item leaves the store. I have a friend working at another store who had some scary looking guy come in, empty out a net full of soccer balls, and just left without going to the counter - only taking the net and_ one_ soccer ball. Creepy guy by the sound of it, so it might have been the best he didn't confront him."

Emma did wonderfully keeping her reaction from exploding as soon as she connected the dots of the said transpired taking of a net and single ball from last night. She had wondered where Garou got the net from, a good thing she left it along with the soccer ball back at Gon and Killua's place, else she might have been questioned about it.

"Would... something like that be considered theft?" She asked carefully. Concerned if Garou would be in trouble should he be found again.

"Hmm. If he's a competitor, not technically? Some securities might have a word with him though, and it is pretty strange that he only took those things. Some **very special items might require some form of purchase**, but since he didn't take anything that important, he won't get into too much trouble. I'm hoping something like that doesn't happen too often though."

A muted nod from her. Deciding to keep her lips shut and her knowledge to herself, as she and Gon had their picked outfits checks out, put into paper bags individual colors of yellow and white, and bid the cashier a good day as they left the store.

"...Ah." Gon suddenly spoke, stopping in his tracks as the automatic doors shuts close behind them. He turns her head for Emma, "Last night, didn't you had a ball in a-?"

Evident panic in Emma's eyes, she shakes her hands in wordless ceasing motion. Her message received, Gon quickly covered his own mouth, self-acknowledged enough about his own tendency to slip up something he probably shouldn't have even if he doesn't know it in a split moment, so he quickly hushed before saying anymore.

Distancing themselves from the store, Emma quietly explains, "I think that might have been Garou that worker was talking about. When I was helping him find his apartment, I mentioned about the other competitors and how amazing they are, and how I would have liked to know a little bit of power like that."

She adjusted her hold of her backpack while gripping the string handle of the paper bag under her fingers, "He then went and got me that soccer ball, and used the net to have it hang and hit it like a boxing bag. He taught me a few moves with it."

"He showed you those martial arts moves he uses?"

"A few of it," she said. "Some of them were too hard to keep up. I couldn't move my body as quick as his, but there were some things I managed to follow."

"Huh. Well that's pretty cool," Gon said, light-heartedly surprised. "I guess he really is a nice person after all."

A warm smile came to Emma as she thought back last night. "Yeah... I think so too."

/.\

The Hero Hunter prowls the city streets of the Wired, in search of more strong competitors and heroes. The sidewalk is occupied by numerous people going about their day. It was a guessing game to assume which person was an NPC, or a strong competitor he can challenge. Garou has not much intention to hunt down every competitor he comes across, that would be when he may go into direct conflict against them once they enter the next event.

Evidently, he has to be careful to where and who he picks a fight with. Remembering the warning of that pink hair staff worker Mashu, if he gets caught doing his acts of evil, he'll be facing a penalty or get booted off from the competition completely. He shall bide his time then, assess every competitor he can pick out from the crowd, potential opponents that catches his eye.

However, should he ever spot a hero, the gloves come right off, and he won't promise to stay his hand. The hero hunter never ignores any hero, whether they'd be incredibly weak or so strong no person can stand a chance - until Garou, who will break that mold with every intention burning into his being.

There was some mention about a training ground where fighting are allowed, but if there happens to be any restriction of how intense one person can fight, then it'll impede Garou immensely in his purpose to evolve his fighting skills even further. Maybe he can find a secluded place, lure potential opponents towards the forest or at a dark alleyway no one looks into. He doubted that there was enough surveillance set up in every nook and cranny in a big place like this.

He walked through several blocks, coming across a park area - short stairways and ramps that led down the bright grass field, cut through by several stone pavements. A large lake at the center, and several grown trees of deep green leaves. People taking a liesure stroll or lying upon the grass, just enjoying this easy going morning.

There were plenty Garou assessed at his distance; a boy with silver hair and a huge sword on his back chatting with a girl in blue jean shorts. Another pair with one a girl in pigtails reading a book and a boy with white hair sleeping on his back with a headband over his eyes. And closer at the near edge of the field where Garou is walking by, there was a girl dressed in witch's clothing, playing around in some kind of experimentation with a bottle of red powder that she seemed to be seeing for the first time. A silver case and what looks to be a staff lying beside her, her wide cherry red eyes peering into the glass held by her fingers, looking through the entry way of the vial with puffed cheeks of inquisitively.

It's a safe bet that some of these people he sees here are competitors, but until he can actually see them carry their patch of gold stars, he can't be sure. He'll likely have to start keeping track as to who is what - NPC or Competitor, and pin up the pictures of those that caught his interest on the wall within his apartment, so to know and pick the person he'll hunt next - particularly those who can push him to his limit.

His eyed his surroundings in capturing the detail of everything. The tall city buildings at his right as cars drove by upon the street, he walks by a muttering boy sitting on a bench, green-black hair and big round eyes full of bright hope that studies intently to the notebook he has in his hand and writes upon. Garou takes a sudden change of interest from the scenery to the quietly spoken words of the boy in tan-yellow shirt and sand-color pants, speaking quickly as if he was an auditor.

"-able to forge weapons using his own energy while simultaneously supporting his partner. Severe wounds that heal on its own but its effects were unique that it's doesn't look like a simple regenerative ability."

The meaning in his words were clearly analytical, Garou was honestly marveled by how fast the boy who shared a similar hair shade as Gon could talk. He rounded the bench and being unknowingly or not caring his nosy being, he stood behind the seated boy and looked over the notebook.

"-and it only seems to be effective when he's around her. A second source? That might explain how he's able to provide just enough to support her and himself-"

Garou's eyes widened as he saw the amount of note, sketches, mathematical shapes that this boy was producing from the end of his pencil, steadily becoming blunter that it'll need a pencil shaver in the next minute. Labelled lists of _strength_ and _weakness_, _pros_ and _cons, _theories written and etc. Whoever this boy was writing about, he seemed to have a lot on them.

"-Although, he did mention how he wasn't a good healer. But that morning she came out of his tent fine. So how did he managed to heal Sabe-?"

"Hey."

The sudden interruption from Garou as he rested his elbows against the back frame of the green bench, Izuku Midoriya jumped from his seat with an "Eep!" and a near drop of his pencil that sprawled right from his grip, his hands flailing for the pencil until he was able to quickly catch it before its complete descent. He whipped his head around for the captured attention of the dark shirt wearing fighter - which further disarmed Izuku at the sudden sight of the sharp eyes of Garou.

"Oh-! S-Sorry, am I taking too much space?" Izuku asked apologetically.

Garou glances down to the backpack and several books set beside Izuku, essentially indeed taking up most of its available space for anyone else to sit. Izuku quickly gathered his books and notebooks and hauled them over his lap. "Sorry about that. You can take a seat now if you want."

A sudden interest of the boy and his writing, Garou took the invitation. A grip of the bench's frame that pushed him over, he sat down in a quick, eased motion that didn't cause the bench to shake upon his sitting. Izuku was too busy putting away his books and other notebooks inside his backpack to notice. Garou takes another eyeful peek of the notebook the boy had been writing on, being clutched against the boy's figure.

"You working on something there?" Garou asked.

Izuku looked up, "A...ah," he stuttered, scratching the side of his face, looking away with a strained grin, "Kind of? I mean, it's just some notes I have."

A long obvious look that took curiosity to the notebook, gold irises trailing up to the boy. Izuku was suddenly at a position where he wasn't sure if he should elaborate on his work further, especially to a rather intimidating looking stranger.

"About?" Garou pressed further.

"Just uh... stuff..." Nothing more came with it, Izuku's mouth thinned in self-debate as he looked down for a moment, loosing grip of his backpack that nearly fell from his lap and he fumbled for it, keeping it close to himself and breathing out in relief, though he seemed still at edge somewhat. His haste of recovery though left his notebook somewhat exposed, and Garou was able to catch some short sentences on a page, reading: "Mana = Quirk?" and also "Laughing sun = hallucination or parallel world?"

Garou breaks free from the oblivious card, though he wouldn't say he was pulling one in the first place. "You just sitting here writing about people you're spying on?"

The secret exposed, Izuku visibly flinched greatly. Garou raises an eyebrow, "You're not a creep, are you?"

"NO!" Izuku hastily responded, sputtering out, "I-it's nothing like that!... well, I guess on the surface, it might be - I mean! I-I'm just analyzing! There's... there's a lot of incredible things that I haven't seen before..."

"Hm."

That was all Garou said. Izuku looked rather embarrassed, glancing at a clock pole just nearby which Garou noticed. Was he waiting for something, someone? The boy then returned his eyes to his backpack on his lap, appearing rather awkward after just being asked if he was a weirdo of some kind, or maybe it was the staring by Garou that was slowly pushing Izuku to his discomfort.

Whether it was Garou's own lack of social awareness, or he just doesn't care, he asked then, "So you've seen a lot of interesting people? Those videos from last night too?"

"Y...Yeah..." Izuku admitted, looking back to Garou. He didn't particularly know who the stranger talking to him is, but the stranger seemed... nice? even if he didn't seem to appear otherwise, just seemed like he was only making some casual talk.

Izuku internally reprimands himself, a hero shouldn't discriminate others by look - though that's probably apparent if they really don't always look the part, Izuku though will give the benefit of the doubt.

He suppose a small conversation wouldn't hurt while he waits for a friend to arrive.

"There was a lot of amazing stuff I've watched. I was left with my jaw dropped the entire time," Izuku further said, looking at the notebook in his hand before turning to Garou. "Have you seen those footages too? That top five moments and those special mentions also."

It really blew Izuku away that he wondered how his world would have faired if they had such powerful people living among there. Well, for one thing, Izuku would hope for them to be with the good guys.

Garou relaxes his back against the bench, looking up at the top of the tall buildings and those behind it, surpassing each height by several more times. "Heh. Yeah. Looks like there's plenty of decent fighters around."

Izuku nodded, settling down as he opens the notebook in his hand, and flipped through some pages. "There was one person I met who could blast fire from his feet. And this other guy who can deflect people's attack or powers with a broken sword. Oh! There was also someone who used his own nose hairs to fight-!"

Before he knew it, Izuku began rambling his awe of the powers he has seen from competitors, his enthusiasm and amazement settling him down to acceptable comfort as he tells each experience of seeing a competitor's efforts, their demonstrative ability, and etc.

Garou listens with intent, taking in every little info as informed by the excited boy who have left behind nervousness - Garou had figured Izuku to be an NPC. A baseless assumptions, but he can hardly imagine any competitor would be as sensitive or nervous if they ought to survive in a competition like this. He resumes listening as Izuku began explaining his theories and detail-captured of the events he saw from the recording of the Preliminary, having written down everything he saw and picked out some few little details. It was a surprise for Garou to hear just how attentive and studious this boy is.

"-So I was thinking, there has to be an additional factor for that giant purple robot. It moved almost too humanly for it to just be purely mechanical. Maybe the one who's controlling it is using some kind of motion detector that has the robot follow every move precisely. It also has a really big disadvantage when dealing with smaller enemies," Izuku said as he additionally wrote in the page dedicated to the Evangelion, an unintentional pun at his last sentence.

Garou hummed as he reached over and gently takes the notebook from Izuku's hands for a closer look, "You sure are a nerd for abilities huh?"

"M-maybe," Izuku faintly admitted, a bit caught off guard by Garou's taking of his notebook. Seeing as how Garou hadn't instantly began running with the notebook in hand, he took comfort to that - for about a few seconds or so. "Since I was little, I've always looked up to heroes and study their Quir- I mean, their powers. Advantage and disadvantage. All of them amazing."

"Oh? You like heroes then?" Garou asked as he flipped to the next page. Fairly standard for a citizen to like heroes, nothing surprising.

"Yeah!" Izuku's face sprung with elated emotions of admiration to the name, "I'm a big fan of them. They're really awesome! Um... can I have that back?"

He pointed to the taken notebook. At that, Garou stopped his reading, "Oh. Sorry."

Garou handed back the notebook without argument, bringing better ease in Izuku. A small smiling sigh from the boy as he puts away his notebook, he zips his backpack close. "It's fine-"

Far behind them, a loud sound of a blast erupted on the park grassy field and they jolted right out of their bench. They looked back to find a black smoky clouds that takes a single spot of the area, pedestrians startled by the sudden explosion.

"What was that?" Izuku asked, his gentle voice suddenly stern, before suddenly booking towards the explosion. Garou gazes at the field before his attention swiftly changed to the boy who suddenly was sprinting towards the excitement, and he followed in casual but quick leap, catching up to the boy as he stopped and looked back at the scene.

A girl in what looked to be a dark gray-blue witch's outfit, coughing out in big exaggerated and wide eye heaps of gasps for air as her face was dirties with black smudges of the blast's residue, she had dark red-like hair reaching her back and red eyes, her witch hat blown right off from her head by the gust aftermath of the blast. Izuku rushed for the girl, "Are you okay?!"

The witch girl, Atsuko Kagari, shakes her head up and down in affirmative nod while hacking out the air from her lungs as she tried to breathe after barely escaping the fumes. "Y-yeah! _cough_ Sorry! I was trying out a bottle of red dust that I heard could turn into fire. I-" she coughed out another one, choke briefly by the smoke, "I think it might have worked too well. I shouldn't have sneezed at it-"

"Watch out!"

The yelling of someone nearby prompted them to look up. Above the big smoke, a white open suitcase rises to the sky after being pushed up by the blast, though it only suffered scratches and black smudge marks, what fell out from the open case was several small glass bottles, each filled with half amount of dust materials in a variety of red, blue, brown, and green. Up high beside it was a short yellowish staff with small blue round gems and a gold rim upon the head.

"AAH! My staff!" Atsuko screamed in a panic. "And the bottles! If they break, the dust will go off!" And at that amount of dust, it'll be a massive and powerful explosion.

Clearing her throat with a harsh cough, she sprung up and ran back for the cloud of smoke the catch all of the items. However, to perform such a task would certainly be a dangerous one if she fails to catch even one bottle of dust. Having this realization in mind, Izuku's arms short forth and stopped Atsuko with a grab of her shoulders, pulling her back with a jerk of her body and a surprised shriek out of the witch girl. "Don't! It's too-"

Garou casually walks towards the smoke. If he position himself under each item, he can easily catch every one of them with just a few quick jabs of gentle gripping.

**"-Acceleration Mode!"**

Two steps forward as Izuku stopped Atsuko from running towards the smoke, something even faster appeared before any of them could react. Garou's eyes widened, the brisk sound of running feet across the grass behind them and he spun around. But whatever he had just felt, was no longer there. Gone in a flash just as he thought he heard someone spoke.

As soon as he had turned to look. A thump of the ground takes his eyes back to the smoke, where it suddenly spiraled and shed itself apart, as if attacked by a gust at the center. A figure in red knelt on one knee, a long orange fabric of a scarf that wraps the figure's neck, gently lowering until upon the ground.

He stood up calmly from his dark long boots, the back of his head a curved outline of his chestnut brown hair, like a three finger flame silhouette that tasted the wind full front.

"Everyone alright?" The arrived person, 009 turned around, warm brown eyes meeting the three close onlooker with a gentle smile. In his arms, he held the case and all of its bottles of dusts shown, and the staff that belonged to the witch girl Atsuko.

Garou blinked widely as if in attempt to see through 009 clearly. This guy with a color scheme that stood him out from the increasingly dissipating smoke, he just suddenly appeared. But Garou was nearly certain, this was the guy he heard just now. For him to be there already, with those items that were just about to fall already in his hold, only one answer came to mind.

Speed. This guy is a person of speed.

"Ah... aaaah!" Izuku's eyes enlarged at the sight of orange scarf wearer, "Y-you're... You're Cyborg 009! I've seen you! I mean, I saw you from last night! When those two guys were fighting!"

The moment Izuku said so, he wanted to slap himself. Such a vague and general description, he even doubted if this person would have recognized Izuku, especially considering - from what Izuku had learned yesterday - the sort of occupation Cyborg 009 has. There were probably several dozens of fights this person intervened.

"Oh hey, I think I remeber you too." 009 took Izuku by surprise with this response, the cyborg grinning at the boy as he began to approach them.

Garou remains his intense gaze at him. A cyborg? That caught him off-guard. He wouldn't have guessed this person was one with how human he looked, as oppose to the Demon Cyborg in Garou's world, whose own mechanical arms of advanced technology build and black scleras of the eyes could be made out a mile away. He takes a long, resuming look to 009 with a gradual frown.

_Is he a competitor?_ Garou wondered.

Atsuko remained obliviously lost in understanding to what just happened and who this person was. Her wide eyes blinking dumbly as Izuku lets go of her, surprised to being apparently recognized.

"Yeah, you were around keeping sure those other people wouldn't get caught in the crossfire." 009 then handed the silver case of dust and magic staff to the baffled witch girl, who snapped out of her stupor and accepted them hastily - yet also carefully, though she couldn't help but reactively fumbled. Luckily 009 helped her until she managed to get a good grip on herself, and she straightens her back, holding close her things.

"Th-thank you! That was incredible! I mean, I didn't really see what just happened, but still!" Atsuko said, bowing her head hastily and repeatedly.

"Did you see what just happened?" Garou overheard the whispers of others nearby that had been here on the field, having rushed over as soon as they heard the explosion and saw the smoke. He side-glances one of them, the boy with silver hair and a huge sword on his back who asked in amazement to his female companion, who had her hands on weapons, arm-length cylanders with triggers - guns it seems.

"I... I swear I just saw him over there, but now he's suddenly there..." Another way, the girl in dirty blonde pigtails said in appalling breath while the boy with white hair stood beside her, hands in his pocket as he looked at the apparent saver of what could have been further disaster. "He was..." the pigtail girl resumed, "Fast..."

So Garou hadn't been the only one to notice. Good to hear he was right on the mark, his eyes narrowed with interest at the scarf-wearing cyborg who smiled at the witch girl. To have such a kind smile from a rather nice-looking face of a boy had Atsuko's heart flutter and cause faint pinks to come to her cheeks.

"Just be careful with those stuff from now on, okay?" 009 said.

_009!_

Suddenly, his face turned serious. Gazing aside, he faces away from the three people. Responding to the telepathic message, _I'm here. What's happening, 003?_

The abrupt change in 009's behavior was noticed. Though 009 didn't pay them any mind as he listened back from 003, _There's another fight happening at the west side of the city. The other cyborgs are too preoccupied. You're the only closest one who can make it there fast!_

"U-um. Are you okay?" Atsuko asked, leaning forward somewhat to see 009's stern face, yet focused as if listening.

_I'm on my way_, 009 mentally answered to the call. He looked back to the concern and wondering looks of each of those close by, and waves at the three main ones closest to him, "Sorry! I'd like to stay and keep chatting, but I got to get going. You guys stay safe!"

The cyborg then rushes off towards one direction, towards the city buildings. "O-oh! Alright! Good luck! And thanks again!" Atsuko shouted once more. A thumbs up from 009 as he quickly takes a jump and run up to the closest tall buildings, and disappears beyond the roof.

"W-wow! He's really fast! Is he using some kind of spell?" Atsuko wonders with tremendous curiosity. "Wait, I think I just heard someone call him a cyborg. Is that what he is?! Seriously?!"

Izuku smiled kindly at her. "Well, that's what I heard from others. But to put it another way..."

He rubbed the side of his head, smiling, "He's a hero."

Garou's body stiffened. Hero..?

**Hero.**

He grinned fiercely.

"Oh, here's your hat," Izuku picked up the witch hat that had been blown aside, luckily to have only fallen just a foot away.

"Ah! Thank you!" Atsuko gleefully expressed, grabbing the apparel and hugging it tightly. "I'm so glad this wasn't burnt."

"I think it's even better that you weren't either," Izuku said, looking back to the stranger he had been having a nice conversation with, "Right...?"

It was then that he realized he didn't even get the stranger's name. Yet just as he would hope to ask him now, Izuku turns around, only to find nobody. Only the mainly empty space of the grassfield. "Huh?"

"Hm? What's wrong?" Atsuko asked curiously, putting back her witch hat upon her head. Izuku confused gaze searches the area.

"Where did...?" Did the stranger had to go somewhere all of a sudden? Izuku didn't even get a chance to find out what his name was...

/.\

Running and leaping across buildings, roof after roof, like a rabbit travelling and overcoming each high surface in quick agility, granting himself leverage and boost from every kick off of the hard surface as he moves for his destination at once. Taking no pause, diligently maneuvering within the city of the Wired.

Unbeknownst by 009, another person was leaping from roof after roof. While this is at times a common action done by NPCs who are capable of it, and Competitors as well. This roof hopper had his intention in pursuit of the cyborg in red. His black shirt like a furious, swift shadow beast moving through the white textures of the building tops, sprinting for his determined prey and the long orange scarf that keeps track of his target.

_I got my eyes on you._ Garou determines. _You're not getting away from me._

The hunt is on for the hero he saw as a competitor. Racing through the rooftops, the unknowing hero hunter chases the unknowing cyborg soldier - 009, one of the many Guardians of the Wired.

* * *

**Competitors Introduced:**

Izuku Midoriya **_(My Hero Academia)_**

Atsuko Habari/Akko**_ (Little Witch Academia)_**

**NPC (Non-Participating Competitor) Introduced:**

Joe Shimamura/009 **_(Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier)_**

A/N: _Gosh I really love this story, I have a bad habit of starting one before getting to the ones I've posted before this, it helps me keep creative though, and also keep my mind distracted with new exciting things and alleviate my stress with college, I should hope to gain the inspiration to try posting the next chapters of my other fanfic stories though._

_A warning to all, I'll be going back previous chapters of this story and rewriting a few things, there'll likely be an additional section added for when Emma led Gon and Killua across the forest, and other dialogues possibly re-worded. The same may be regarded for this chapter, though generally many plot points shall remain the same._

**Q/A**

**Maxim7:**_ Yeah I absolutely agree with you. There's a few reason to this, for one thing, I'm afraid of it becoming to repetitive of Emma explaining her situation of her world, so I'm holding it off from Garou until a more appropriate moment comes (plus they kept getting distracted or focused on something else, though if and when he does ask her outright she'll answer). Down along the line, Emma might also end up thinking of the other competitors selflessly, withholding her own problems so to hear theirs, which will likely conflict with her drive to help her family. So while she would want to ask other for help, she would also consider helping them first._

_Garou will eventually know but I didn't want to cram in too much of everything in one chapter. Perhaps another time when they may meet again, he'll ask about what she meant by "saving her family" and hear her having to explain it. Look forward to it when the reaction comes, especially when other characters might hear about her mission as well, I imagine a lot of people will be rushing to help her in every way they can think of. (yes, this will be one of those fluff stories of looking after the lost child of neverland, but I don't want to go too deep into that as I hope t write the story seriously with some occasional down time and etc.)_

_Although Emma is the main character, a lot of other competitors in this competition have their very good reason for being in this competition as well, and they'll be having their moments to shine and be a focal point in the story as well. Also, I imagine Emma may mention her situation if asked directly, if not she likely won't bring it up out of nowhere except when its to make a point, like expressing her sympathy for others wanting to fight and win for the sake of someone._

_It's also kind of the same reason as to why Gon and Killua haven't brought up more in depth about Kite, which is its own issue that both of them would likely struggle to explain the full story, especially Gon. By the way, I changed back the crossover setting from Anime X-overs to The Promised Neverland x Anime X-overs, when looking through the library of other multiple crossovers, I find it that this story would be far easier to search up if I put them in a less used setting (not a lot of Promised Neverland fics around)._

_This way this story doesn't end up getting drowned in a sea of other multi-crossover fics, it helps stand out more and also, people who have read the Promised Neverland would get the gist of what Emma is fighting for, and would feel more comfortable reading her point of view than having to look into all the other animes that'll be referenced and characters from multiple series introduced (not everyone has seen every anime in history), though I hope it would make a good suggestion list for anyone who is interested to look into them._

**TurboKid96****:** _Emma, Gon and Killua agreed to work together, though to stay as a group all the time likely won't always be assured. Although certainly, this is what they'll be intending when the next round starts, especially for Emma who would like to expand her options in being able to do more than what she already is capable of. It's a thought that asked, well, why _wouldn't_ she make this request to Gon and Killua? I imagine, following her previous lessons with Ray in following the Nameless Man(Spoiler: /Yugo/) during Goldy Pond arc, they had to pay attention and take whatever intel they can get from the man who wouldn't teach them directly otherwise._

_Evidently__, they must "take" what skill they see from others, and "adapt" to the situation in order to survive. This is what also inspires Emma to seek Gon and Killua's tutelage and learn Nen before their next round starts._

_I hope this chapter was a fun read. Stay safe everyone!_


End file.
